Population 266. SAAAAAAA.....LUUUUTE!
Posted on 08/26/2016 7:04:59 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
TOLEDO (13abc Action News) - Self-driving cars are getting closer to becoming a reality in America.
Testing is underway in a few places around the country and if you travel the Ohio Turnpike, you'll soon be sharing the road with them.
We spoke with drivers and the head of the Ohio Turnpike Commission about the testing.
The autonomous vehicles could be on the turnpike by the end of the year.
The Ohio Turnpike will be turned into a test track of sorts for the emerging technology.
Randy Cole is the Executive Director of the Turnpike Commission, "It's 241 miles of straight road and there is very little grade change. There are three lanes for 160 miles, which means this can be done without impeding other traffic."
Cole says the engineers and drivers in the test vehicles will follow the same rules the rest of us do, "Every car or truck will have a licensed driver and they will follow all the same insurance and safety laws as the rest of us and the highway patrol can ticket these vehicles."
According to Cole, this testing also has an economic component to it, "If these types of things go in place in other parts of the country they will be able to charge less to get their goods to market and we'll be at an economic disadvantage."
The hope is that the technology can help cut down on the number of accidents throughout the country, "We have two million injury accidents a year and about 32,000 fatalities. We think this technology will help reduce those numbers dramatically as it evolves."
The news is getting mixed reactions from drivers. Denice Hinojosa uses the toll road on a regular basis, "I don't think it's a good idea, I use the turnpike for my daily commute and I don't see how technology could ever replace human control of an automobile."
Zach Miller likes the idea,"I have a background in technology, so I kind of like the idea. It is a bit scary as far as the safety portion. As long as they work that out before it's on the roads, I don't have a problem with it."
Although we don't know who will be doing the testing as of now, turnpike leaders say all of that information will be released, "We'll make sure everyone knows. This will be a very transparent process as it happens."
They are not autonomous.
That's happened to me before. I was stationed in Germany back in the 80's. I got on the train to go home after a bit of drinking, fell asleep, and woke up in the morning in a train yard on the French border.
And more people on unemployment not paying taxes. I guess you’re right.
I work in the tech industry and am not a believer. How many times have you had a computer crash on you due to a software bug, a hardware fail or some other mysterious reason? If that happens in a driverless car, the passengers are flying over the guardrail in a steel coffin. How about driving snow? Half the people living in the north are clueless when driving in snow. How us a robocar going to sense snow on the road and adapt?
Tandem tractor trailers and driverless cars...what could possibly go wrong!
How about a herd of skittish deer on the side of the road suddenly leaping in front of the car. It happens here in northern Michigan. How do you program in the wild varieties of deer behavior we’ve all seen in our decades long driving careers?
Yep, all part of the turnpike’s program to completely rebuild its original concrete base.
That photo looks like a Cat Burger.
The tandem trailer behind you is running Windows 10.
Be very afraid.
And more people on unemployment not paying taxes. I guess you’re right.
...
Luddites felt the same way.
Ohio Ping!
Please let me know if you want on or off the list.
Probably. They'll also use statistical best case scenerios instead of survival of the fittest. That's one more giant leap toward being completely transformed to an Idiocracy.
Trains are VERY noisy but, for some reason, they are also very relaxing. I LOVED taking the trains all over Europe in the 70's.
Humanity hasn't changed. We're the same as we always were, same ole Cain and Abel. BUT, there are seven billion of us.
Lincoln once said: Human behavior can be modified to some extent but human nature cannot be changed.
Except of course NONE of the self driving car plans involve step 2. And they don’t need it. They need to observe their surroundings, and getting a bunch of data twice (once from coordination once from observation) won’t help the situation.
The same way car currently do: traction control. Modern cars do a lot more of the driving than people want to admit already.
With the number of idiots that text or talk on their cellphone while exceeding the speed limit I would prefer that these idiots be in automated cars.
Enabling a vehicle to be self-piloting puts all the mechanisms in place for external monitoring and external control. If it can be done - and it can - the government will exploit that opening for control.
If you don't see that, you really aren't a conservative, are you?
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