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Self-driving cars work about as well as central planning bureaucrats do
americanthinker ^ | 11/21/2018 | Jack Hellner

Posted on 11/21/2018 9:48:13 AM PST by chief lee runamok

For all the hype about self-driving cars out there, this Wall Street Journal report, titled The Bumps Ahead for Autonomous Vehicles, suggests there are some problems: Everyday scenarios that human drivers navigate with ease, such as bumpy roads or snowy weather, can be unintelligible to a car’s sensors. But there is no industry standard for what sensors or backup mechanisms driverless cars must have if primary sensors fail.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


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If a person needs a car to transport his person, what is wrong with manually driving?

I don't buy the driverless vehicle being safer.

1 posted on 11/21/2018 9:48:13 AM PST by chief lee runamok
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To: chief lee runamok
I'm a civil engineer and I specialize in transportation planning, design and operations. I advise clients on issues like this all the time.

There's one term I will use to describe autonomous vehicles: It's a concept whose development has been "just around the corner" for more than 50 years.

2 posted on 11/21/2018 9:52:23 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will.")
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To: chief lee runamok
Image result for self-driving cars gif
3 posted on 11/21/2018 9:52:48 AM PST by ETL (Obama-Hillary, REAL Russia collusion! Uranium-One Deal, Missile Defense, Iran Deal, Nukes: Click ETL)
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To: chief lee runamok

There are enough Knight Rider episodes that had KITT compromised to turn me off of a driverless car.

Some kind of auto pilot for long drives that could be disengaged with a flick of the switch, maybe.


4 posted on 11/21/2018 9:56:06 AM PST by wally_bert (I will competently make sure the thing is done incompetently.)
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To: chief lee runamok
Objects that are low to the ground, such as snakes or sharp debris ....

Or lawyers, but let's work on the snakes first.

5 posted on 11/21/2018 9:57:23 AM PST by Mr Ramsbotham ("God is a spirit, and man His means of walking on the earth.")
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To: chief lee runamok

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/13/18091024/waymo-commercial-driverless-taxi-service-december-2018-public-launch

Waymo is reportedly planning to take the next step towards offering a commercial driverless car service in early December, according to an unnamed source who spoke to Bloomberg. The soft launch will see Alphabet’s self-driving car division offering rides from a new — unnamed — consumer taxi brand. The autonomous service is expected to launch in Phoenix Arizona, where the company already operates a fleet of modified Chrysler Pacifica minivans. “Some cars” will contain backup drivers who can take control if necessary, according to the report, with straight-forward fares priced to be competitive with Uber and Lyft.

Offering paid rides is a big milestone for the service, but this is otherwise an incremental step. Initially, Bloomberg speculates that availability will be restricted to Waymo’s existing 400-person “Early Rider Program” — although they’ll no longer be bound by a secretive NDA. The location is also not set to change from the same 100 square mile area around Phoenix already used for testing. Finally, although many of the autonomous taxis will not have backup drivers, this has already been a feature of Waymo’s tests since October 2017 (humans in remote operations centers are available to step in when things get complicated). Over time, availability and coverage areas are likely to increase, but at launch there’s not much about the service that’s expected to change.


6 posted on 11/21/2018 9:58:22 AM PST by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: chief lee runamok

This is very true. Their solution is the central-planners solution. These never work and always miss important details

The successful standards are those that are created and accepted from the grassroots up.


7 posted on 11/21/2018 9:59:49 AM PST by PGR88
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To: chief lee runamok

They’ve become a YUGE cottage industry here in Pittsburgh.

Prediction: They will not survive First Contact with the American tort bar.


8 posted on 11/21/2018 10:00:50 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: chief lee runamok

I can see them used as a bus would be, on fixed routes.
I have no objection to that. In fact, we in the Bay Area may already have such a set up with our B.A.R.T. system.
The Bart trains have a space for Operators, but usually, they just sit, observe and babysit rowdy riders.

I don’t wish to be driven about town by a driverless car.
It would feel as though my choices were already made for me by the system. I’m not liking that part.
Also, there are times when I actually enjoy driving, stopping, going speeding up as I please. I impress myself by making difficult turns, negotiating freeway entry.
I don’t wish to be a potted plant on a conveyor belt.


9 posted on 11/21/2018 10:03:17 AM PST by lee martell (AT)
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To: chief lee runamok

Got a blow out on the way to atlantic city doing bout 80 with wife, mom and uncle in the car.

SOMEHOW managed to get over three lanes to the shoulder

I attribute it to driving GARBAGE, 20 something year old cars for liveries, that had bologna skins for tires

I drove in all kinds of weather. hurricanes and blizzards included.

How do you teach that to a car?


10 posted on 11/21/2018 10:03:57 AM PST by dp0622 (The Left should know if.. Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR!)
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To: chief lee runamok

Anything can be defeated with a laser pointer, isn’t good.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/07/hackers-trick-self-driving-cars-lidar-sensor


11 posted on 11/21/2018 10:04:11 AM PST by qaz123
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To: qaz123

Anything can be defeated with a laser pointer, isn’t good.

...

Like pilots?


12 posted on 11/21/2018 10:05:56 AM PST by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: chief lee runamok

The government is going to subsidize and promote their production in order to control us better, all the while telling us that it’s to “save lives.”

So it will come, no matter what we say or do. They will find ways to finance these things while hiding the expenses from us.

If you are killed by one of the damned things, you will have little recourse. There will be no fault, no responsibility, no one to sue, just a central fund that pays you a fixed amount, and you’ll still be dead.


13 posted on 11/21/2018 10:05:59 AM PST by I want the USA back (It's Ok To Be White. White Lives Matter. White Guilt is Socially Constructed)
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To: chief lee runamok

The driverless vehicle will eventually be safer. They probably already are. It’s never distracted, it won’t make human errors. It can have machine malfunctions or sensor errors. They will keep refining it.

Imagine a world where auto accidents are rare. Auto body shops, traffic cops, traffic courts, injury lawyers, accident related medical bills and disability, lost productivity due to accidents, and insurance premiums would all be dramatically reduced.

Imagine a world where elderly can get to a doctor appointment without assistance because they no longer have to drive. Or the mother with three kids who have sports/band/whatever practice the same night can actually manage it, because driverless vehicles can get their children there safely. And deliveries become much cheaper because you don’t have labor associated with the deliveries.


14 posted on 11/21/2018 10:10:33 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: chief lee runamok
The only idea dumber than this would be invisible cars. Unless everyone has to get a driverless at the exact same time and it is centrally controlled by a massive nationwide network this will simply not work. The prospect of a centralized system is terrifying in and of itself (government knows wherever you go any time) but another subject with far reaching implications of how we would ever get there.

A man being operated on by a medical robot in the UK was recently killed by the robot while the doctors monitoring the process sat by and drank afternoon tea or surfed the net.

No thanks.

15 posted on 11/21/2018 10:10:48 AM PST by ExpatCanuck (The)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

Is Uber’s back on the roads? I have not seen any of their volvo’s running around since that accident.


16 posted on 11/21/2018 10:12:18 AM PST by afterhoursarmory
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To: Moonman62

Huh?


17 posted on 11/21/2018 10:12:35 AM PST by qaz123
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To: chief lee runamok
I think you could make an argument for the viability of self-driving cars if they were restricted to purposely-designed, limited-access roads. No pedestrians or animals, possibly sealed off from much of the weather. Would be great for intercity travel or to/from other transportation centers. Malls/hotels/hospitals/stadiums/etc could be built with separate access for driver/driverless vehicles. The ability to park themselves would be great.

But mixing them among driven vehices, pedestrians, and the rest of the environment? I don't think it's ever going to work out well.


18 posted on 11/21/2018 10:21:32 AM PST by chrisser
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To: chief lee runamok

This concept has the same appeal as free healthcare or education. It’s great on paper but not practical in reality.


19 posted on 11/21/2018 10:21:58 AM PST by ealgeone (SCRIPTURE DOES NOT CHANGE!)
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To: DannyTN

A product whose core customer base is elderly, blind and drunk people has a long way to go before it will dominate an industry.


20 posted on 11/21/2018 10:24:19 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will.")
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