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Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

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Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#301

Post by jdavis703 »

loeg wrote: post #274
kevin42 wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds to me like the driver shouldn't be going 55mph in the first place, if they can't stop before the yellow light turns red. It's similar to icy roads. If you go the normal speed limit and you slide into another car, it's your fault. The fact that the speed limit was higher than your speed doesn't release the driver from responsibility.

Icy conditions are maybe predictable (ok, it's under 0°C outside), but yellow light times (edit: the time between the light turning yellow and the light turning red) are not.

Yellow light turns are predictable in that you know that they'll happen, just not when. So if you have a heavy load or other adverse conditions you should slow down to a speed where you could stop at the correct distance. Software should do an even better job of predicting the weight to speed to stopping distance ratios.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#302

Post by millettjon »

geocar wrote: post #257
pkulak wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working as well as a "competent" driver (which, as we all know, is already a high bar) is a fantastic first step.

The UK driving test is significantly more rigorous than the US, and it shows: UK drivers are amongst the safest in the world (2nd lowest road fatalities per 100k people; top five per 100k vehicles). The US isn't even in the top fifty (and for calibration to the American reader: Canada is in the top 30, but hey, at least the US beats out Mexico). At the end of the UK practical examination process I would expect all ne…

Does your source account for number of miles driven per capita?

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#303

Post by dirkg »

I don't understand why people continue to believe that SUVs are safer just because they are huge. Seems like a very common myth.

Also Tesla's radar which can detect vehicles 2 cars in front of you by bouncing signals off the car in front is pretty neat tech. Who else is doing this? I'd assume most of the luxury car makers with auto pilots have this too?

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#304

Post by cm2187 »

beat wrote: post #210

Yesterday, I was saying that autopiloted trucks would take over the long-haul trucking industries. This is why . Driver errors with semis on the highway kill thousands every year. This kind of technology will save lives - not just of the Tesla drivers (or other autopiloted drivers), but of the vehicles they don't hit.

Not the least because truck autopilot don't play videogames while they drive!

A too common practice in Europe is to drive by ear. The truck driver will not watch the road unless the wheels are running over the side lines which makes a noise.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#305

Post by TeMPOraL »

beat wrote: post #231
Tloewald wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you underestimate the ability of the trucking industry to poorly maintain automatic pilot systems.

Poorly maintained autopilots would still be safer than poorly maintained drivers.

Drivers maintain themselves, so this is pretty much purely maintained drivers vs. little-to-not maintained autopilots.

That said, I agree there's plenty of incentives for the trucking companies to go the autopilot route.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#306

Post by goshx »

elif wrote: post #234
goshx wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car, with myself and a friend inside, almost got ran over by a truck when the driver didn't even bother to slow down for the yellow light and crossed at high speed the red light. Luckily he didn't hit anyone. I totally agree with you.

I don't know your situation, but my experience driving big heavy stuff is that sometimes a yellow light does not provide enough warning to stop 55mph * crazy weight, and you sometimes find yourself with a dilemma of entering an intersection just after a light has changed, or a few seconds after the light has changed.

This road is primarily used by heavy trucks. There are signs with flashing lights indicating "PREPARE TO STOP" before the crossing exactly for that reason. That driver sure knew what he was doing.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#307

Post by unclebucknasty »

fixermark wrote: post #284
unclebucknasty wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't advocate that we needlessly endanger lives; just that we don't devalue those same humans we claim to want to save.

To avoid this devaluation, I think we'll need to find other ways in which people are to be valued than "driving acumen." But that should be pretty straightforward; there's a lot of things people can do that aren't "drive a car."

As I stated previously, it's not about this one thing.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#308

Post by unclebucknasty »

aidenn0 wrote: post #216
unclebucknasty wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Excuse me if I don't shed a tear for the feelings that might be hurt among human drivers who consistently and measurably overestimate their abilities. Indeed. If only we could find them all and kill them before they strike again.

Or, you know, replace them with machines that are safer.

My point was in how we frame these things--the human relationship to technology. Specifically, it's about how we can raise the important point that humans can be made safer by technology, without it being a value statement about the human race.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#309

Post by akamaka »

bdhess wrote: post #289
akamaka wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saving any lives in great, but trucks are a very small part of the problem. Out of 33883 US traffic deaths in 2009, 3380 involved trucks, and truck driver error was listed as a cause 26% of the time. Self driving long-haul trucks probably won't save "thousands" of lives, but certainly hundreds. http://www.trucking.org/ATA%20Docs/News%20and%20Information/...

The 26% statistic is misleading in this case-- just because the death didn't involve truck driver "error" doesn't mean a different movement pattern for the truck wouldn't have made a difference. For example, in the original video, if the Tesla autopilot hadn't braked, and the car had been involved in the crash, it's not clear to me that error on the part of the Tesla driver would have been listed as a cause.

Yeah, for sure. I was implying that the other 74% will be avoided by cars with self-driving features, since the parent comment was suggesting that getting driverless trucks was more important.

Re: Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

#310

Post by aaron987 »

pipio21 wrote: post #124

One of the main causes of accidents are vehicles left on the road and other vehicles impacting them or the people as they take for granted that traffic will be fluid and are distracted or whatever. You should never leave your children and family on a car on the left lane while you leave, never. I have a neighbor that is paraplegic because of that. His entire family went to the hospital after a vehicle crashed from be…

Yes! This cannot be stressed enough.

Not just for car accidents, but this is true for emergencies in general. Always check your surroundings!

For example, if you find a guy laying on the sidewalk, he could have stepped on a down power line, slipped on ice, or recently gotten attacked by some punk who might still be nearby. If you don't know why he is unconscious, proceed with caution.

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