An autopilot, great. But driverless, as in, no way for anyone to take control? No thanks. There are plenty of places your GPS can't take you the last few hundred metres, nor would you want it to, you want to decide where to park based on a variety of factors.
UK to allow driverless cars on public roads in January
111–116 of 116 posts
Re: UK to allow driverless cars on public roads in January
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
You always voice the same concerns, I always hear the same concerns. It's crazy to me that people get hung up on the liability issue. 1) Liability is assessed exactly as it is now. We use the same system to determine which car was at fault. If it's your car, you are at fault. Someone will insure a self-driving car, especially once the safety record is established. Your current provider might not, but someone will. If…
While I agree that liability will be assessed the same way it is now, the answer isn't always: If it's your car, you are at fault. There are examples of situations where a car producer/manufacturer was at fault for accidents, caused by bad software. The question is where that line will be in the myriad of situations that will be more complex due to the the introduction of automation. The control system itself is then…
This is hardly the first case of distributed liability. It's just not that complicated, and certainly not an obstacle to such a beneficial technology.
Re: UK to allow driverless cars on public roads in January
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you saying that the UK has a grid pattern and wider streets? I had always heard that the UK had narrow streets in many places, but that's just from watching Top Gear. Here is a Google autonomous vehicle navigating Lombard Street in San Francisco: http://youtu.be/eXeUu_Y6WOw?t=1m34s
No he's saying the opposite. The UK does have a lot of narrow bending rounds and tiny country lanes :)
Not counting driving on the wrong side of the roads. I wonder if google cars' AI only needs a "Drive on the wrong side of the road in this country" command, or if some more complex programming is needed.
Re: UK to allow driverless cars on public roads in January
#114When I will see "UK to ban manual driving on public roads"?
Re: UK to allow driverless cars on public roads in January
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
No he's saying the opposite. The UK does have a lot of narrow bending rounds and tiny country lanes :)
Not counting driving on the wrong side of the roads. I wonder if google cars' AI only needs a "Drive on the wrong side of the road in this country" command, or if some more complex programming is needed.
If you look at Google Maps (at least on the desktop,) there's usually directional indicators on odd roads and in any directions in the UK you'll notice how the blue line goes clockwise around roundabouts instead of counter-clockwise like our friends in the rest of the world
Re: UK to allow driverless cars on public roads in January
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
> " The question is where that line will be in the myriad of situations that will be more complex due to the the introduction of automation." It will be determined via litigation, as it is now. Technological complexity of subject matter has yet to present any serious roadblock, or cause any significant change, in the prosecution of the law. Similarly, whether neglected maintenance (or third-party modifications/parts)…
Technological complexity of subject matter has yet to present any serious roadblock, or cause any significant change, in the prosecution of the law. Ridiculous. To cite only one counterexample, self-driving cars will make the controversy over the EU's "right to be forgotten" law look like a polite discussion over a beer. That said, the problems are solvable and we'll all ultimately be better off for facing them.
> "self-driving cars will make the controversy over the EU's "right to be forgotten" law look like a polite discussion over a beer."
You misunderstand me. Of course self-driving cars will generate many and expensive legal fights. But those lawsuits will look much like any of our current lawsuits.
That the courts don't understand the technology will not stop jury trials from deciding liability, just as courts not understanding genetic evidence doesn't stop them from throwing people in jail for life based on misunderstandings.
That legislators don't understand the technology will not stop laws from being written any more than their not understanding criminal justice stops them from writing self-defeating "tough on crime" laws and "prison as punishment" regulations that only increase recidivism and multiply the social cost of crimes.
My point is that courts and legislators not having an understanding, let alone answers, is not a stumbling block to self-driving cars. It won't prevent self-driving cars from moving forward until and unless it's addressed.
They'll just blunder through it, making a mess, making mistakes, as they've done with everything else.