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Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

sfchronicle.com

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Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#331

Post by LeafItAlone »

concordDance wrote: post #322
Dylan16807 wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please. Let's assume people are going at a speed that the road is designed to handle, since that's usually the case. In that situation, the behavior you're calling out as unsafe is simply "going faster". Now, in a technical sense that's true, but it's always true. Going faster reduces safety when you're above the speed limit. Going faster reduces safety when you're at the speed limit. Going faster reduces safety w…

I'm quite confused why I keep seeing posts like this downvoted in this thread. This post is nuanced and probably novel to most readers. Even seems correct to me.

Probably because there really isn’t any nuance in it, hand waves the physics and human factor, and it uses vague language.

Want to know what any arbitrary driver on a road has as a reference for “the design speed of the road”? The posted speed limit.

I’m not saying their argument is right or wrong, but just that this post isn’t nuanced or convincing.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#332

Post by abecedarius »

dventimi wrote: post #273
MaxHoppersGhost wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You guys are tipping your Uber drivers? IIRC you couldn’t even tip until a few years ago.

Well, you can now, and I do. It's hard enough living in California and especially San Francisco, and I believe being in the service industry here is no picnic. Tipping is the least I can do.

I know this feels right, but introducing tip culture into a market currently free of it is bad. Where there's a norm of tipping, it doesn't make the servers more money than where there is not; what you should expect it to do is to decrease the quoted price and increase the variance of income to the servers. And incidentally increase the mental overhead for everyone, increase the artificiality of interactions, etc.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#333

Post by pc86 »

bluejekyll wrote: post #233
KennyBlanken wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is automated. Has been for many decades. Hit up ebay and search for "swyngomatic." There are ones that are spring-powered and more modern ones use a couple of d-cells (or a wall wart if you're enterprising.) That and a white noise machine (set it low, their ear canals are very straight so they're sensitive to noise, although babies get used to noise around them given time and sleep through it, which is more practi…

Something every new parent should learn (which some parts of car rides mimic), learn about the 4th trimester. Then learn the 5 S’s to mimic the womb: Swaddle - wrap the baby Side/stomache - position like the womb Shush - white noise Sway/swing - walking or bouncing Suck - a finger, a sucker, etc These were a life saver for my son. Most nights it was just swaddle + sway, on bad nights it took all 5. I think the reason…

Our first is just out of this period and it really was pretty rough. It look us a month or so to come across the 5 S's and it made a world of difference.

We also somehow got very very lucky in that he didn't need to be transitioned out of the swaddle, he just grew to dislike it so one night we just stopped cold turkey and it was fine. We've had friends that have had to do the one arm in / one arm out, swaddle the legs, etc. and transition over days or weeks to get any sleep at all.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#334

Post by pclmulqdq »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #178
alex_lav wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unsure where you’ve lived but in Philadelphia/New York/LA/SF/Seattle/Portland public transit is pretty disgusting, troublesome passengers or not.

> in Philadelphia/New York/LA/SF/Seattle/Portland public transit is pretty disgusting In New York right now. Subway stations are dinghy. But the cars themselves are fine. Hop on the Metro-North or LIRR and they're on par with European cleanliness standards. (If not behavioural.)

If you think the cars in NYC are clean, look under the seats. LIRR and Metro-North are OK, but also not exactly clean.

European trains are far cleaner.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#335

Post by marcosdumay »

LeafItAlone wrote: post #331
concordDance wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm quite confused why I keep seeing posts like this downvoted in this thread. This post is nuanced and probably novel to most readers. Even seems correct to me.

Probably because there really isn’t any nuance in it, hand waves the physics and human factor, and it uses vague language. Want to know what any arbitrary driver on a road has as a reference for “the design speed of the road”? The posted speed limit. I’m not saying their argument is right or wrong, but just that this post isn’t nuanced or convincing.

> Probably because there really isn’t any nuance in it, hand waves the physics and human factor, and it uses vague language.

There is a link there, that refers to lots of scientific research. From almost a century ago to almost today, and in a huge amount of agreement.

Do you have more nuance than that?

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#336

Post by steelframe »

yazzku wrote: post #61
steelframe wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But you're already doing all of that by carrying an Android phone. I'm not.

My boy. Now, when a self-driving car drives past you, make sure you show them that sweet middle finger of yours.

Actually whenever I give one my sweet middle finger it's stuck in SF traffic and I'm zipping around it on my bike.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#337

Post by rootusrootus »

diggan wrote: post #289
bluefirebrand wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's a bad driver then, because matching flow of traffic is more important and safer than stubbornly following the exact speed limit

It's a bad driver for adhering to the speed limits? I'm having a hard time understanding how that makes sense. I understand that matching the flow of traffic is important, but more important than the speed limit? They're there for a reason. If the speed limit is 30km/h and everyone is driving in 50km/h, you're saying you'll opt for driving at 50km/h? Besides, if there is multiple lanes, you take the right lane and fo…

> problem solved?

The consensus from the folks writing laws appears to be that the problem is not in fact solved in that case. There are laws which apply independent of your speed that require you to give way when more than X number of cars are behind you constrained by your speed (X varies by jurisdiction).

Of course the response to this is usually "but if I am going the speed limit that other law cannot apply." Very much like the laws saying you must keep right unless passing someone. Everyone seems to have their own opinion on which laws they will follow, and which they can ignore.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#338

Post by rootusrootus »

throwaway7ahgb wrote: post #298
bluefirebrand wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's a bad driver then, because matching flow of traffic is more important and safer than stubbornly following the exact speed limit

Flow of Traffic vs Speed Limit Dangers Many believe the myth that as long as we’re going with the flow of traffic, we’re not doing anything wrong. It makes sense– everyone else is going the same speed, so why shouldn’t you? There’s no way a cop could pull you over if you’re just going with the speed of traffic. Wrong. If you argue that you were just driving with the flow of traffic, then you are essentially admitting…

> Many believe the myth

Do they? Almost without exception the argument for going with the flow of traffic is that it is safer, not that it is the most legally defensible.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#339

Post by dventimi »

abecedarius wrote: post #332
dventimi wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can now, and I do. It's hard enough living in California and especially San Francisco, and I believe being in the service industry here is no picnic. Tipping is the least I can do.

I know this feels right, but introducing tip culture into a market currently free of it is bad. Where there's a norm of tipping, it doesn't make the servers more money than where there is not; what you should expect it to do is to decrease the quoted price and increase the variance of income to the servers. And incidentally increase the mental overhead for everyone, increase the artificiality of interactions, etc.

> I know this feels right, but introducing tip culture into a market currently free of it is bad

I couldn't possibly agree with this less. My view is that "it depends." Level salaries in San Francisco and I'll consider not tipping. Until then, I'm comfortable with my choices.

Re: Self-driving Waymos secure final clearance for expansion beyond S.F

#340

Post by rootusrootus »

ericyd wrote: post #313
bluefirebrand wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's a bad driver then, because matching flow of traffic is more important and safer than stubbornly following the exact speed limit

Here in Texas I'd love for more people to stubbornly obey the speed limit to slow down the flow of traffic.

Having just returned from Texas, I have to say your problems in that regard are entirely self-inflicted. And frankly, probably by design. You have wide open freeways with ample space in every lane, absolutely inviting people to cruise at high speed. Want to dial it back? Make the lanes narrower. The vast majority of drivers choose their speed based on comfort, not what the sign says. That won't change, so the strategy for how you slow down traffic has to.
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