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Driverless cars expected to go mainstream by 2025
BGR ^ | 4/19/13 | Dan Graziano

Posted on 04/20/2013 2:07:54 PM PDT by LibWhacker

Google has been testing a fleet of autonomous vehicles on U.S. roadways for quite some time now, and other companies such as Mercedes-Benz are adding more advanced technology to aid drivers. We now have cars that can automatically stop, parallel park themselves and even detect when another car is in a blind spot. Google executives have previously said that they would like to see self-driving vehicles on the road within three to five years, however it may not happen that quickly. Industry experts believe that by 2020, car computers will handle much of the work when traveling at high speeds and five years later, we could finally see fully autonomous vehicles arrive “in meaningful numbers.”

The dates given are still “guesstimates,”  Christian Schumacher, head of advanced driver assistance systems in North America for Continental, told The Wall Street Journal. She also noted that there are many obstacles the industry must overcome to make driverless cars a reality. One concern is the question of liability: Who should take the blame if a self-driving car gets in an accident?

Then again, accidents may be so rare that it could be a non-issue. Google’s self-driving cars have logged more than 300,000 miles across a wide range of traffic conditions and have not caused a single accident. Automakers and regulators in the U.S. and Europe are serious about the future of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles and have been pushing the technology in an effort to improve safety.

NHTSA researcher W. Riley Garrott revealed some interesting data this week at the SAE International World Congress in Detroit. According to the agency’s crash data, only 1% of drivers involved in a crash apply the brakes at full force prior to the impact, while 33% of drivers don’t apply the brakes at all. He said that accidents due to poor braking were found to cost society about $45 billion, based on data from 2006 to 2008, and that these new technologies would not only save lives, but also money.

As we patently wait for self-driving vehicles to arrive, Garrott noted that the NHTSA intends to make a decision by the end of the year on whether technologies such as “crash imminent braking” should be a standard across the automotive industry.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Science
KEYWORDS: autonomous; cars; driverless; nothanks; vehicles
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To: dfwgator
What could possibly go wrong?

I'm thinking it couldn't likely be much worse than what we have. Most people, honestly, are just not capable of safely driving a vehicle anywhere near other people. Now... If I could have an autonomous-mode car and use of a special high-speed lane where my car would "plug in" to a system that let those cars move together in high speed drafting groups at 100mph+... I'd be all over it. Could move quick and still get great gas mileage. :-)

81 posted on 04/20/2013 7:19:24 PM PDT by Ramius (Personally, I give us one chance in three. More tea anyone?)
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To: LibWhacker

I wonder what auto insurance will cost for a driverless car?


82 posted on 04/20/2013 8:02:53 PM PDT by upchuck (To the faceless, jack-booted government bureaucrat who just scanned this post: SCREW YOU!)
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To: upchuck

83 posted on 04/20/2013 8:05:57 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
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To: LibWhacker

Just wait until that main fuse or circuit breaker blows....


84 posted on 04/20/2013 9:47:44 PM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (President Bush took the war on terror to them, and 0 bummer brought it to our soil.)
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To: Arrowhead1952

With our rapidly aging population, we already have what amounts to be many driverless cars out there.


85 posted on 04/20/2013 9:49:33 PM PDT by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
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To: LibWhacker

Pfft Driverless Cars is cool and all but I watched Star Trek in Primetime as a kid. Where are my Teleporters and Antigrav units I was promised?


86 posted on 04/20/2013 9:49:41 PM PDT by Mad Dawgg (If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the 2nd one...)
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To: Disambiguator
My dad moved our family from the East Bay (Berserkely area) to the South Bay because of BART. He was riding it in the early days, and got tired of all the problems, so we just moved to Silicon Valley (where his job was).

My dad retired from Ma Bell because of the hell he had to go through with the BART system every day. He lives in San Jose, and after fifteen years of commuting to San Fran on that thing, he'd finally had enough.

87 posted on 04/20/2013 10:23:28 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: LibWhacker

You got that right. The colon febrile version stunk in ice.

The director and screenwriter completely lost track of the story, and the resulting mish-mash was nearly unwatchable.

Should have been called “Total Recall Revisited, Sorta” or something like that.


88 posted on 04/21/2013 7:54:13 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: LibWhacker

You have to upgrade the GPS. We had trouble traveling last year because the roads had changed. It was a 1200-mile trip, and I got my old navigator’s job back PDQ.

This year, we’re going to upgrade the software and use the dang GPS so I can enjoy the trip and conversation with my Hubby instead of saying “turn here,” “exit the next off ramp,” etc.


89 posted on 04/21/2013 8:01:03 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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