Driverless Vehicles

We had a good debate here about AEVs (all electric vehicles) and it's not hard to understand the reasoning behind them being developed, but today we in the UK are being told that convoys of driverless lorries/trucks will soon be taking to the roads to help develop the technology. Understandably this is causing some serious alarm among road users - heck, you only have to drive alongside a HGV at 60 mph to understand why. But the 'why' isn't anywhere near as obvious. Main arguments seem to be that there are fuel savings when HGVs drive close together, and they can also cruise much closer to each other if their steering and braking is synchronised. But the possible consequences of an accident just don't bear thinking about, and there are a number of other considerations ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41038220

 

There are too many legal problems. To begin with there's the basic "who is responsible" should an accident occur?
Then there's the human factor, could the technology cope with the unpredictability of a human being?

I can see driver-less vehicles in contained/controlled environments working successfully, but not if placed in a public environment, on public roads.

Too many factors for consideration for my liking...personally, I can't see it eventuating in my lifetime.

 

I have probably driven over 500,000 miles in the UK, and seen some diabolical movements by other drivers, which, fortunately never came to a bad end- but, driverless vehicles - I can only envisage this on separately built roads, like the railways.
Great conception- but can you imagine these vehicles on UK motorways, in heavy mist ?, or, in somewhere like China, or, India ?
How would we expect these vehicles to react in an accident ?
Most UK roads just have not got the capacity, - Overnight ? Might just get away with it, if a driver is actually on board, on Motorways- but two , or, three in convoy...........

 

I have probably 3K miles with the car driving. I am always watching so I have had no problems. As enthusiastic as I am about driver less cars and trucks - they ain't ready yet. Musk says 6 months, I say a year. Until self driving can beat humans for safety, they will need human backup.

 

DavidGP is right, but another avenue of thought is rearing its head. It seems autonomous vehicles are already beating distracted drivers in safety tests. WAZE, phone calls, texting and the like put drivers behind present AI in safety ratings and present AI is not all that good. Even the best drivers get beat by AI if they are not paying attention.

BTW, over 10K miles with Autopilot now. 100% in light traffic on freeways with no lane changes, 100% in stop and go with no lane changes. But I still have the occasional fail in medium and heavy traffic as the crazies do things the AI cannot respond to.
Like the car that was backing up the off ramp to get back on the freeway; half on the shoulder and half in the slow lane. Nicki did the correct thing by slowing while beeping for me to take over. I assume Nicki would have stopped clear of the idiot while pulling off the road if I had not taken control. She's programmed that way.

 

Check out this self-driving electric Audi truck!
https://www.maxim.com/rides/audi-concept-truck-futuristic-concept-2016-6

 

Our roads are half full of vehicles delivering all the stuff Amazon and others are selling online. If driverless road vehicles really are the way forward then it would seem a relatively short step to pilotless drones delivering all this stuff and so greatly reducing the pressure on our roads.

Amazon are already working on it -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25180906

 

And this is a whole new issue.

Just one...
What about privacy?
American companies have an infamous reputation of spying on, and selling the private doings of people... for millions of dollars.
How do you think the liberal thief on the right became a billionaire?

 

How about investigators or lawyers! Suppose a divorce lawyer hunting for John Q Public to deliver a summons. The drone spots him in his backyard sipping tea by the pool. Lawyer now knows when and where to find him!

 

A driverless car is great if you get KITT. Not so much if it's KARR.

 

Guys, if parcels by drone is doable and has a strong business case it will happen, with 'safeguards' of course. We wouldn't have the internet if privacy was an overriding consideration.

 

It's also a great why to find wanted suspects!
But if John Q Public's wife/girlfriend is soaking up the sun in her birthday suit...

 

On the drone front, look at this explosion in Ukraine maybe caused (sabatoge?) by a drone.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/world/europe/ukraine-ammunition-depot-explosion.html

 

Driver should have ultimate control, like driving school cars with two steering wheels. Automotive companies tried to do away with the steering wheel too, didn't happen. Lot of dislike lately on all fronts for Mr. Zuckerberg.

 

Now this is my kind of driverless vehicle.

 

Haha, good thing they don't know about smart traffic lights, cars that drive by wire and how their bank actually works.