Driverless Cars

[Atchuuu]

Many people say they would never drive an autonomous vehicle even if available and affordable.

I'm willing to bet they will and so is every manufacturer, many venture capitalists and startups.

Once the insurance companies have proof that self driving cars are safer then human driven cars you will be paying much higher premiums to drive yourself. At that point drivers will start to recognize the benefits.

 

[airbiscuit]

Not only lower insurance premiums, lower cost of use. Instead of buying a car, you will buy a car time share from a pool of vehicles. It will deliver itself to you need it - from economy car to luxury to SUV to truck, etc. Older folks who still live at home, but no longer drive will love it.

 

[Atchuuu]

Not only lower insurance premiums, lower cost of use. Instead of buying a car, you will buy a car time share from a pool of vehicles. It will deliver itself to you need it - from economy car to luxury to SUV to truck, etc. Older folks who still live at home, but no longer drive will love it.

Exactly. Interesting that when talking about self driving cars many people don't seem to be interested in a car that drives itself. But mention things like valet and self parking and you get a different response. How about a car that drops you off at the mall entrance then goes to park itself. When you are done you call up the car on your key fob or phone and it comes right back to get you. Who wouldn't like that feature?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Many people say they would never drive an autonomous vehicle even if available and affordable.

I'm willing to bet they will and so is every manufacturer, many venture capitalists and startups.

Once the insurance companies have proof that self driving cars are safer then human driven cars you will be paying much higher premiums to drive yourself. At that point drivers will start to recognize the benefits.

Before they take away my driver licenses I hope the autonomous vehicles rule the day and I can have access to one.

 

[vvanders]

Exactly. Interesting that when talking about self driving cars many people don't seem to be interested in a car that drives itself. But mention things like valet and self parking and you get a different response. How about a car that drops you off at the mall entrance then goes to park itself. When you are done you call up the car on your key fob or phone and it comes right back to get you. Who wouldn't like that feature?

Yup, I also really like the idea of giving back mobility to people who can't drive today but where a Taxi just isn't feasible, esp out in the rural areas.

These side benefits of tech can be pretty awesome. When I worked at UPS back in '04 we had a guy there who was mute. He was the only person I knew who owned a Blackberry but wasn't one of the suits. This is before texting really exploded and with that device he could just whip up a response and show it to you before you even knew he was typing. It was a lifeline to all his family/friends as he could use email to keep in touch from anywhere.

I was big into cellphone tech at the time(Palm Treos, Windows Phone, etc) and it floored me to see something like that used in a way I hadn't thought of to improve someone's quality of life so significantly.

 

[3930dave]

Once vehicles are fully autonomous (Level 5, IIRC), technically and legally, the options are almost unlimited.....

I may be retired by then, but for me I'd be interested in commuting options with Level 5. Buy one with a sleep chamber - if a high-paying job is 3 hours away, no problem !

As much as I will continue to poke at the technology with a sharp stick (well, not really only that..... more so tilting at the windmill of people's blind-faith in tech ....), what may take longer to fully settle out are the Legal issues.

We can have bad Winter storms here, that fully able-bodied people think twice about heading out in. Where does the liability lie when a non-driving senior with major health issues gets stranded in a Winter storm, and perishes ? We've touched on this aspect a bit here, but that example highlights the case of someone who not only does not hold a DL any longer, but may not have any real driving skills still available, even in an emergency.

One response can be "The trip shouldn't have been initiated to begin with", with some validity. People of all ages and abilities can and do make sub-optimal driving decisions already.... I just don't want to see people making more of them by putting on the Blind-Faith in Technology Blinders......

I don't think the Elephant in the Room has been mentioned...... Want to go the bar, and have a dozen drinks ? Legally, I'd say that will be the acid-test for Level 5.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Not only lower insurance premiums, lower cost of use. Instead of buying a car, you will buy a car time share from a pool of vehicles. It will deliver itself to you need it - from economy car to luxury to SUV to truck, etc. Older folks who still live at home, but no longer drive will love it.

Insurance is usually a big factor for many people.

Insurers discount for accident free/ticket free records. What I'd like to find is an insurer that will discount even further for track-based advanced driver training (high speed collision avoidance, etc.....).

I do understand the general trend though..... driving is just another example of where we are removing human involvement.

Rgds, D.

 

[LouNY]

From what I've seen and read the current and even projected self driving will not be able to operate on snow covered roads, back roads without lane marking lines or shoulder striping and no way whats so ever are they capable of traveling dusty dirt roads.
So I don't expect to see many on my roads.

 

[oosik]

I see an awful lot of dreaming, hoping and skylarking here. There WILL be a "line in the sand" beyond which driverless autos will not be cost effective or even functional.

I see transition points established around cities that do have driverless vehicles. Park your auto at the transition point and continue into the city in a driverless vehicle.

Don't think that will happen - - then ask yourself - - why doesn't mass transportation provide service out to every man-jack living out in the country.

Driverless autos will function under the same restrictions because they are also a form of mass transit.

 

[3930dave]

I see an awful lot of dreaming, hoping and skylarking here. There WILL be a "line in the sand" beyond which driverless autos will not be cost effective or even functional.

I see transition points established around cities that do have driverless vehicles. Park your auto at the transition point and continue into the city in a driverless vehicle.

Don't think that will happen - - then ask yourself - - why doesn't mass transportation provide service out to every man-jack living out in the country.

Driverless autos will function under the same restrictions because they are also a form of mass transit.

Good pragmatic summation :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.