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New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

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Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#211

Post by MattGrommes »

femiagbabiaka wrote: post #28

Anecdotally, as someone who bikes a lot in SF, Waymo's are a lot safer than human drivers simply because they follow the letter of traffic laws. Stopping at stop signs, waiting for pedestrians to clear the box, following the posted speed limits, etc.

Just following the letter of the law is so huge. Even people who think they're being nice by doing something out of the ordinary make the situation so much more dangerous because now you don't know what's going to happen. Even if they weren't great drivers, the consistency makes so much of a difference.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#212

Post by XorNot »

kion wrote: post #197
johnfn wrote: post #37

As someone who is often on SF city streets without a car - I bike and run a lot - I absolutely love Waymo. I am continuously seeing human drivers cut me off, perform illegal maneuvers (i.e. run red lights when I'm going through a crosswalk), and break various other traffic laws. All these things genuinely put people in danger. Just the other day, a guy started running a "no right turn on red" lane in SF, and when I p…

The thing I dislike about Waymo is other drivers. I've now had it happen twice that a car will fully blow through an intersection because they know a Waymo will slam on the breaks to avoid a collision. They basically abuse the car's reflexes. Also in any sort of situation where the Waymo is being very cautious the biggest danger is the impatient people behind the Waymo who will break the law to go out and around it.

This probably bizarrely justifies the pulp scifi trope of the automated car having an human-like android driver.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#213

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

dylan604 wrote: post #130
Lammy wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I never have to be concerned a Waymo hasn't seen me. Funnily enough that's exactly why I don't like them. Every time one rolls by me I know that tens of photos of me and even my 3D LIDAR scan get piled in to some fucking Google dataset where it will live forever :/ Their site is even proud of it: https://waymo.com/waymo-driver/ section titled “Keeping an eye on everything, all at once” “The Waymo Driver's perceptio…

man, the Googs already has a library of images of you. If there's anything about you that the Googs doesn't already know, I'd be shocked. the Googs probably knows you better than your therapist, because you've only shared with your therapist what you wanted. the Googs gets data about you from places you know nothing about. being concerned that a Waymo car took your picture isn't invalid, but man is it a tear drop in…

If "the Googs" knows so much about me, why do they keep showing me ads for products I not only have zero interest in, I'm also not even the target demographic for?

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#214

Post by hn_acc1 »

crazygringo wrote: post #157
VOIPThrowaway wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My prediction is that car usage will go thought the roof when AI cars work. People can have a stress-free commute to a nice house in the countryside and work in the cities. Because the car is electric, it will be inexpensive to run.

Commute time still matters, and congestion pricing will become the norm. I can read on the subway, but while a 20 min subway ride is fine, an hour each way is still a lot , and a two hour train commute just doesn't leave much time in your life for doing social things. Also, I think there's going to be a huge surge in in-demand AI buses. Rideshares will take people to a random spot, you'll wait 2 minutes for a predete…

You've clearly never been to the US.. Late-stage capitalism will find ways to make it cost exactly as much as driving your own car.

OTOH, if I'm in a decent-sized car (minivan?) for 45 minutes+, I can get work done. I can then stay less time at work.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#215

Post by decimalenough »

netsharc wrote: post #190
decimalenough wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waymo can drive cars but it can't magick new roads into existence. If car usage goes through the roof, so will traffic jams.

Probably not, if they're all computer-controlled, and can communicate with each other. I posit traffic jams is mostly caused by idiot and reckless drivers...

The future where all cars are computer controlled is even further away than the future where fully self-driving cars are available for purchase.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#216

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

floxy wrote: post #194
vzaliva wrote: post #162

One way to inteprent their data is that Waymo is LESS efficient protecting cyclists and motorcyclists compared to pedestriants. As a motorcycle rider I hope they will work to fix that gap.

What seems more likely, that Waymo is prioritizing pedestrian safety over cyclist safety? Or cyclists are much more likely to engage in risky behavior?

Maybe it's that cyclists are more likely to be trying to use the road and waymo is prioritising driving on the roads rather than the sidewalk?

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#217

Post by overfeed »

kajecounterhack wrote: post #143
ra7 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waymo already warns you if it detects road users when you open a door. They just don't actively prevent you from opening the door, but they could implement it in their next generation vehicles.

They won't have to if they use sliding power doors (the geely cars have them). They should have had them for the jaguar generation :) Dooring people aside, what do you do if someone just leaves the door open when they leave their ride?!

> Dooring people aside, what do you do if someone just leaves the door open when they leave their ride?!

Continue billing them for the ride and send an app notification or phone-call to their phone.

Other potential solutions: If the door is still not closed after n minutes, plead with passers-by, or offer a passing or nearby rider the chance to earn credit by closing the door.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#218

Post by dekhn »

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #213
dylan604 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

man, the Googs already has a library of images of you. If there's anything about you that the Googs doesn't already know, I'd be shocked. the Googs probably knows you better than your therapist, because you've only shared with your therapist what you wanted. the Googs gets data about you from places you know nothing about. being concerned that a Waymo car took your picture isn't invalid, but man is it a tear drop in…

If "the Googs" knows so much about me, why do they keep showing me ads for products I not only have zero interest in, I'm also not even the target demographic for?

Because all the smart people at Google who worked on Quality (Ads Quality, Search Quality, etc) got promoted and moved away from those, and the revenue is good enough that google can maintain its monopoly without improving the product.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#219

Post by louwrentius »

oceansky wrote: post #200

This article has a huge conflict of interest. I would like more independent data.

Seems like the rest of the HN crowd is swooning over Waymo. Nothing but glowing reviews.

As they become the monopolist, like they always do, watch how they’ll run the age old playbook to destroy the market and then hike prices.

I’m not against self-driving cars. I’m against self-driving cars owned by a few megacorps, that will have even control and surveillance capabilities in addition to what’s already in your pocket.

Re: New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer

#220

Post by crazygringo »

hn_acc1 wrote: post #214
crazygringo wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Commute time still matters, and congestion pricing will become the norm. I can read on the subway, but while a 20 min subway ride is fine, an hour each way is still a lot , and a two hour train commute just doesn't leave much time in your life for doing social things. Also, I think there's going to be a huge surge in in-demand AI buses. Rideshares will take people to a random spot, you'll wait 2 minutes for a predete…

You've clearly never been to the US.. Late-stage capitalism will find ways to make it cost exactly as much as driving your own car. OTOH, if I'm in a decent-sized car (minivan?) for 45 minutes+, I can get work done. I can then stay less time at work.

> You've clearly never been to the US.

You're clearly wrong.

> Late-stage capitalism will find ways to make it cost exactly as much as driving your own car.

Late-stage capitalism is a defunct theory based on Marxism.

Real, actual capitalism results in competition which drives prices down, as long as there are two or more competitors and antitrust law is enforced. Which is generally the case.

And in the case of monopolies like city buses, cities set prices directly in response to democratic pressure. By your argument, NYC subways ought to be $25 a ride... but they aren't.

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