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The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

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Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#71

Post by JshWright »

comrade1 wrote: post #4

One thing I'm looking forward to with self-driving cars is to be able to step into a street anywhere and have all the traffic stop automatically. Every inch of street now becomes a crosswalk. Even highways. (This is an ironic statement)

Less ironically, I'm looking forward to pushing a button on the dashboard of my ambulance that automatically preempts the road ahead.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#72

Post by sorenbs »

NovaS1X wrote: post #51

I want to hear the argument about people who want to drive. I enjoy driving. I like driving cars. I still drive a manual and will not buy an automatic transmission. I participate in car clubs and I compete in autocross events. I enjoy automotive photography and I do my own maintenance on my vehicles. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy driving and the act of owning a car? Do my loves get phased out beca…

It will probably be more expensive to insure a self-driven car but I don't se it being banned outright. It will be a luxury, a sport.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#73

Post by nazgulnarsil »

NovaS1X wrote: post #51

I want to hear the argument about people who want to drive. I enjoy driving. I like driving cars. I still drive a manual and will not buy an automatic transmission. I participate in car clubs and I compete in autocross events. I enjoy automotive photography and I do my own maintenance on my vehicles. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy driving and the act of owning a car? Do my loves get phased out beca…

I want to hear the argument about people who want to ride. I enjoy riding. I like riding horses. I still ride a horse and will not buy an automobile. I participate in riding clubs and I compete in horse racing events. I enjoy horse photography and I do my own hoof maintenance on my steeds. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy riding and the act of owning a horse? Do my loves get phased out because the majority of people just think of transportation as appliances? Will this give birth to "classic-riding shows"? Not saying I don't like innovation, I'd absolutely love to own a model-T, but some things need to be preserved.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#74

Post by cmelbye »

NovaS1X wrote: post #51

I want to hear the argument about people who want to drive. I enjoy driving. I like driving cars. I still drive a manual and will not buy an automatic transmission. I participate in car clubs and I compete in autocross events. I enjoy automotive photography and I do my own maintenance on my vehicles. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy driving and the act of owning a car? Do my loves get phased out beca…

You mentioned cars as appliances, but you forgot the part where humans driving cars has cause of millions of deaths and many more injuries. I expect it will still be possible to drive cars manually, but in dedicated or isolated areas.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#75

Post by pat2man »

NovaS1X wrote: post #51

I want to hear the argument about people who want to drive. I enjoy driving. I like driving cars. I still drive a manual and will not buy an automatic transmission. I participate in car clubs and I compete in autocross events. I enjoy automotive photography and I do my own maintenance on my vehicles. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy driving and the act of owning a car? Do my loves get phased out beca…

People love to fly but not everyone should be a pilot. Same goes with driving. The driving test could get more vigorous and you might not be able to drive on all roads but you will still be able to drive.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#76

Post by freehunter »

agumonkey wrote: post #67
freehunter wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many new cars have black boxes that log what the vehicle was doing, and they can be pulled in case of an accident. It's one of the benefits of having everything be electronically controlled these days.

Happy to hear that. I don't know why it's not advertised more, it's reassuring and enforcing at the same time. Maybe people would flock toward log-free models out of a reflex to drive carelesly.

That's probably why it's not advertised. Because your car will tattle on you. I've often wondered about the black box in my car, if I were in an accident and I was going 71mph in a 70mph and they pulled by black box, would I be given a ticket even though I was not at fault?

Although I'm pretty sure only the manufacturer has access to this data (as part of their copyright on the car), so it would take a warrant for law enforcement to get it. I don't have proof of that, but I would guess that's why you don't hear about it more. It's only used when absolutely necessary.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#77

Post by kmano8 »

NovaS1X wrote: post #51

I want to hear the argument about people who want to drive. I enjoy driving. I like driving cars. I still drive a manual and will not buy an automatic transmission. I participate in car clubs and I compete in autocross events. I enjoy automotive photography and I do my own maintenance on my vehicles. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy driving and the act of owning a car? Do my loves get phased out beca…

From a sentimental perspective, I hear you. I've also enjoyed driving, taking care of my car, etc. That said, the idea that some things need to be preserved isn't going to keep human-driven cars in the mainstream if the world wants to go in a different direction.

Take a look at newspapers -- I have no fewer than 5 relatives bemoaning the collapse of physical newspapers. Because nostalgia. It's decidedly more efficient to get your news electronically. How long before The Times discontinues home delivery?

Even if (when?) self-driving cars become the majority, I think you'll still see hobbyist avenues for enjoying cars -- with, my guess is, higher expense to you and a lot more regulation on use (e.g. not allowed to drive in cities?).

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#78

Post by scott_karana »

mildbow wrote: post #52
ams6110 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's OK for Google to record license plates, but it's flip-out time when the police do it?

Of course. The most google can do: send you ads for shovels. The most police can do: pull you in for murder because they correlated your car to where and when some body was buried.

I like how in your examples, "Google" is just algorithms, not the humans behind them, but for the police, you allow for humanity.

You may as well say, "the most police cameras can do: send you an automated speeding ticket", which is of course painfully naïve.

Google could do plenty of evil with your data.

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#79

Post by jcromartie »

NovaS1X wrote: post #51

I want to hear the argument about people who want to drive. I enjoy driving. I like driving cars. I still drive a manual and will not buy an automatic transmission. I participate in car clubs and I compete in autocross events. I enjoy automotive photography and I do my own maintenance on my vehicles. What happens to people like me who actually enjoy driving and the act of owning a car? Do my loves get phased out beca…

Self-driving cars will still have manual controls, for all of the minutiae at the beginning and end of a trip (mostly to do with parking).

Re: The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car

#80

Post by schoen »

freehunter wrote: post #57
DanaDanger wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All I hear is "this car gets in accidents." Maybe not the message marketing wants to send... ;)

How do you hear that? It's basically a guarantee, and companies generally don't warrant against things they know will happen. The reason you get a 1 year warranty on things is because they are engineered to not break down within one year. After that, the incidence of failure goes up. "We will pay for any accidents caused" means "this will not cause accidents". Because no company would do that unless they were sure it…

Another interpretation of the Google bug bounty is that fixing bugs of a certain kind is actually worth $100,000 to them (but you're right that it would be hard to sustain if they expected to make thousands of payouts at that level).
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