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Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

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Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#11

Post by Broken_Hippo »

This car was driving a bit too conservatively: However, this highlights my own experience trying to follow traffic laws. First, speeding: I figured out that the time saved speeding wasnt enough to actually help - theoretically, I could save 2 minutes if things went well. It is upsetting when people follow laws and safety instead of normal local social driving standards.

So long as we are mixing drivers and driverless, I think we'll need to close the gap while the problem exists. Laws that reflect driving and better enforcement paired with continual updating to driverless cars so that they can safely manuever in traffic without causing problems.

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#12

Post by ubernostrum »

sundvor wrote: post #3

Well I for one would find a vehicle travelling at 40km/h in a 60 zone incredibly annoying, even if they're legally allowed to travel that slow.

There are places in the US with minimum speed limits (a highway I take fairly regularly has a maximum of 75mph and minimum of 40mph).

There are also many places where driving slowly enough to be disruptive to traffic (in the officer's judgment) is an offense.

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#14

Post by ubernostrum »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #11

This car was driving a bit too conservatively: However, this highlights my own experience trying to follow traffic laws. First, speeding: I figured out that the time saved speeding wasnt enough to actually help - theoretically, I could save 2 minutes if things went well. It is upsetting when people follow laws and safety instead of normal local social driving standards. So long as we are mixing drivers and driverless…

Safety and posted speed limits are often not super compatible; the safest thing, in most road conditions, is to be driving relatively close to the speed of the surrounding traffic, even if that means exceeding the posted speed limit.

(in other words, speed itself is not dangerous except in certain situations -- like sharp curves or wet/snowy/icy roads -- speed differential is dangerous)

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#16

Post by mjevans »

raldi wrote: post #13
sundvor wrote: post #3

Well I for one would find a vehicle travelling at 40km/h in a 60 zone incredibly annoying, even if they're legally allowed to travel that slow.

How do you feel about cyclists on 35mph (60kph) roads?

That urban planners should really have bike highways/trials.

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#17

Post by jws »

The Google cars are licensed as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhood_Electric_Vehicl...

This means they are legally limited to 25mph and legally allowed to drive on roadways with speed limits up to 45mph.

NEVs let you have very light weight, inexpensive vehicles with exceptional economy… that would be instant death traps in a high speed collision. They don't undergo ordinary crash testing. Think of them as posh golf carts.

I looked into getting an NEV, but most of my local streets are 30mph and I can't in good conscience drive down them at 25mph.

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#18

Post by ygra »

sundvor wrote: post #3

Well I for one would find a vehicle travelling at 40km/h in a 60 zone incredibly annoying, even if they're legally allowed to travel that slow.

At least in Germany it's even disallowed to drive too slow without a good reason. Although "a good reason" is probably still open to interpretation.

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#19

Post by craigds »

sundvor wrote: post #3

Well I for one would find a vehicle travelling at 40km/h in a 60 zone incredibly annoying, even if they're legally allowed to travel that slow.

IME it's not that uncommon for humans to do this, but we should expect better from robot cars :)

In NZ technically the local-road speed limit is 50kph, but normal accepted practice is to drive at 60. Anecdotally, I get stuck behind someone driving at 40 at least once a week. It's really annoying.

Re: Google self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly

#20

Post by nshepperd »

ubernostrum wrote: post #14
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #11

This car was driving a bit too conservatively: However, this highlights my own experience trying to follow traffic laws. First, speeding: I figured out that the time saved speeding wasnt enough to actually help - theoretically, I could save 2 minutes if things went well. It is upsetting when people follow laws and safety instead of normal local social driving standards. So long as we are mixing drivers and driverless…

Safety and posted speed limits are often not super compatible; the safest thing, in most road conditions, is to be driving relatively close to the speed of the surrounding traffic, even if that means exceeding the posted speed limit. (in other words, speed itself is not dangerous except in certain situations -- like sharp curves or wet/snowy/icy roads -- speed differential is dangerous)

You're basically saying that everyone should defect because everyone else does. Which may well be true for a single human driver, but is probably not how autonomous cars as a whole should be programmed.

Nor does it support the claim that "speed itself is not dangerous". If everyone were driving slower, everyone would be safer (which we may actually be able to achieve once a sufficient number of law-abiding robot cars displace human drivers).

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