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S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

sfchronicle.com

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Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#501

Post by squokko »

cashsterling wrote: post #206
throwaway9274 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely right. To situate in terms of recent events, there have been three stages of trying to delay / influence the California CPUC robotaxi expansion approval vote: 1. Tried a politician scare campaign. Failed because it was too transparent it was an attempted distraction from their terrible public safety record. 2. Tried coning and disabling the vehicles. Failed because it was too transparently astroturfed, leg…

I don't know why the other reply to this post got downvoted to hell. THe person has a point. Fully autonomous cars are cool... don't get me wrong. But electric cars and autonomous electric/gas cars are probably not the right solution to our person transport needs. using energy to move a 4000 lb vehicle to transport one or two 200 lb humans is not energy-efficient... most of the energy is spent just moving the vehicle…

OK, great. Go build an e-bike company, lobby for government investment in e-bikes, for bike lanes, whatever. Don't interfere with private companies spending their own money, improving road safety, and advancing the world forward just because they're not working on the perfect solution to all of the world's problems.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#502

Post by dumpsterdiver »

nerdbert wrote: post #262
Aurornis wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A 60lb e-bike can also transport a 200 lb person whilst using far less resources (both to make the vehicle and to operate it) and space. E-bikes are great for the situations, climates, and people who can use them. E-bikes are not a substitute for the majority of people’s transportation needs. I think the young, healthy people who live in moderate climates with good weather, short commutes, and little need to haul a…

They work for the majority of people of all ages who live in cities where the infrastructure has been properly built to accommodate bikes. Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do. I've demoed a multistory house down to the bricks and re-built it from the outside in without a car. Hired someone to haul off a dumpster several times. For major materials deliveries, like beams or window…

> Most people rarely need to haul anything

Clearly, you have never been a performing musician.

I'm not either anymore, btw. I gave up that dream long ago. It wasn't because I was broke (I was broke, but that wasn't the reason), it was because I found out that I'm not a good musician compared to the folks who pass through Austin, TX. I wasn't even close.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#503

Post by runeb »

kaycebasques wrote: post #453
adamkf wrote: post #249

In my experience living in SF, these cars are much safer than the typical drivers in my neighborhood for pedestrians. Most human drivers around here don't even bother to stop at stop signs, and instead just slow slightly. With the cruise and Waymo cars, I feel like the risk is a bit lower when I'm on my bike or walking. I have witnessed a Cruise car stopping in the middle of the road when faced with an oncoming emerg…

I live in "the outside lands" [1] so I see them all the time. I think they do a lot of testing out here. I can only think of one time that a Cruise acted erratically and put me on guard. But honestly they drive so gradually and predictably that I am confident I could have got out of the way. I don't recall a single sketchy moment with a Waymo, but I'm a Googler so maybe we just chalk that up as incentivized blindspot…

I moved here from Europe and I am absolutely shocked at how reckless the drivers are. In the old country I think I saw a car run a red light once in 20 years of driving. Here is seems I see it every other day.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#504

Post by jackvalentine »

xyzzyz wrote: post #376
nerdbert wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They work for the majority of people of all ages who live in cities where the infrastructure has been properly built to accommodate bikes. Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do. I've demoed a multistory house down to the bricks and re-built it from the outside in without a car. Hired someone to haul off a dumpster several times. For major materials deliveries, like beams or window…

I have been driving my children to daycare for past 3 years. I will be driving my children to daycare for at least 3 more years. Bicycle is not a viable replacement for this use case, sorry. My situation is far from unique, raising children is quite universal human experience.

> My situation is far from unique, raising children is quite universal human experience.

And yet your experience of it is totally foreign to me. There are a half dozen daycares within walking distance of my house. My sibling who lives overseas has the same thing.

When my kid hits school age the local primary school is next to the tram line that will take me to my office.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#505

Post by ekianjo »

cashsterling wrote: post #206
throwaway9274 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely right. To situate in terms of recent events, there have been three stages of trying to delay / influence the California CPUC robotaxi expansion approval vote: 1. Tried a politician scare campaign. Failed because it was too transparent it was an attempted distraction from their terrible public safety record. 2. Tried coning and disabling the vehicles. Failed because it was too transparently astroturfed, leg…

I don't know why the other reply to this post got downvoted to hell. THe person has a point. Fully autonomous cars are cool... don't get me wrong. But electric cars and autonomous electric/gas cars are probably not the right solution to our person transport needs. using energy to move a 4000 lb vehicle to transport one or two 200 lb humans is not energy-efficient... most of the energy is spent just moving the vehicle…

And ebikes will cause way more death. What a terrible idea.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#506

Post by dumpsterdiver »

dcow wrote: post #452
nerdbert wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They work for the majority of people of all ages who live in cities where the infrastructure has been properly built to accommodate bikes. Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do. I've demoed a multistory house down to the bricks and re-built it from the outside in without a car. Hired someone to haul off a dumpster several times. For major materials deliveries, like beams or window…

> Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do. Heavy citation needed. I've been remodeling my home for the last 2 years and I'd say on regular (every other week or so) basis I've needed to pick up something from the hardware store that can't be biked home. When I buy groceries for the family for the week, I cannot bike those home. When I need to take a large package to the UPS store a b…

Agreed. They appear to live in a bubble world where everything "just works". They don't seem to realize that outside of their bubble the world does still need to turn, and that isn't currently going to happen in the nice way they'd like it to (on uhh... bicycles).

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#507

Post by ekianjo »

nerdbert wrote: post #262
Aurornis wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A 60lb e-bike can also transport a 200 lb person whilst using far less resources (both to make the vehicle and to operate it) and space. E-bikes are great for the situations, climates, and people who can use them. E-bikes are not a substitute for the majority of people’s transportation needs. I think the young, healthy people who live in moderate climates with good weather, short commutes, and little need to haul a…

They work for the majority of people of all ages who live in cities where the infrastructure has been properly built to accommodate bikes. Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do. I've demoed a multistory house down to the bricks and re-built it from the outside in without a car. Hired someone to haul off a dumpster several times. For major materials deliveries, like beams or window…

> They work for the majority of people of all ages who live in cities where the infrastructure has been properly built to accommodate bikes.

great definition. this means nowhere then.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#508

Post by ekianjo »

nerdbert wrote: post #262
Aurornis wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A 60lb e-bike can also transport a 200 lb person whilst using far less resources (both to make the vehicle and to operate it) and space. E-bikes are great for the situations, climates, and people who can use them. E-bikes are not a substitute for the majority of people’s transportation needs. I think the young, healthy people who live in moderate climates with good weather, short commutes, and little need to haul a…

They work for the majority of people of all ages who live in cities where the infrastructure has been properly built to accommodate bikes. Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do. I've demoed a multistory house down to the bricks and re-built it from the outside in without a car. Hired someone to haul off a dumpster several times. For major materials deliveries, like beams or window…

> Most people rarely need to haul anything and can use carshare when they do.

Let me guess. You are single or in couple without kids ?

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#509

Post by oars »

gnicholas wrote: post #446

Is this what Garry Tan's video (The Truth and Lies About Driverless Cars in SF [1]) was all about? I find him to be pretty credible in general, and he makes a strong case that there are some folks within the city government who are misrepresenting the safety record of self-driving cars. I don't know much about the situation, and I'm glad this testing isn't happening where I live (we do have tons of testing on the pen…

Thank you for sharing this video.

Re: S.F. says incidents by Cruise, Waymo driverless taxis are ‘skyrocketing.’

#510

Post by wskinner »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #500

What's the problem that autonomous cars aim to solve? Almost everybody today is able to drive. Most people are safely navigating billions of kilometers everyday. People who are physically disabled or don't want to drive for whatever reason have the option to order an Uber. So what is it that will change if we attain a 100% human-like AI driver?

Almost 43,000 people died in car accidents in the USA in 2022. Many people hope autonomous cars can reduce that number. The goal is not a 100% human-like driver. It is a driver that is better than humans.
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