Live data from Hacker News

Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

theregister.com

741–750 of 778 posts

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#741
post #726
post #642

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is backed by infrastructure studies. It's called traffic calming and it's done on purpose in places with advanced infrastructure such as the Netherlands.

In the same vein, I encourage neighbors to park their cars on the street rather than in their garage or driveway so the neighborhood street becomes narrower for traffic due to a row of parked cars on each side of the street. Works better than posted speed limit.

That's just a bad idea. Cars passing through the street won't see the kids and kids won't see the cars.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#742
post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very recent phenomenon driven by hybridization and fuel regulation (auto get better mileage because they have more gear). But you are right, they sell a lot more auto nowaday than they used to.

I'm from EU, and i've been driving both manual and automatic transmission. I can testify that auto transmission is safer, your hands are 100% at the steering wheel. Most people cannot turn and change gear at the same time. I've also spend quite a bit time in US driving. EU is safer as narrower streets/lanes and smaller number of lanes (on highways), closer parked cars and pedestrians/bicycles forces you to pay much m…

> Most people cannot turn and change gear at the same time.

That's just not true. If you cannot do that, you won't get your driver's license in most countries.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#743

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Than why is Mercedes able to sell me a system where I can legally watch youtube, etc. while in traffic on a highway without being liable for anything happening and at least 10s until I have to take over control of the car while Tesla can't?

Because it's a party trick that requires a vehicle in front for tracking and can only be used under 40 mph on the highway. It's a joke. I can do the same thing. Why can Tesla offer FSD beta which can drive around on any roads while Mercedes can't?

It is not a party trick. It literally allows you to do anything while stuck in traffic, which is definitely not a rare occurrence. Meanwhile Tesla's FSD beta doesn't allow me anything I can't do with another car, as I still need to pay the same amount of attention and hold the same liability. Mercedes could offer a similar service, but won't as their assistants already offer a similar experience without the dangers of Tesla's FSD.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#744

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Self driving cars are much more likely to be public transport than individually owened" I've only seen this as a 'just so' greenwash pr story from the automotive industry to offset the projected 300% increase in total road miles driven anually. Please explain why peole would be compelled to ditch their multidude of private cars just because they now come with a 24/7 free driver included?

Because owning a car is expensive. And owning a self-driving car is likely to be even more expensive. If you can still get the same convenience for a far lower cost by just using a taxi, why would you continue to own a car? (Also, this is something the automotive industry does not want , as it will reduce their sales substantially. This is something that is claimed by self-driving companies which are not also automot…

rcxdude 22 hours ago | parent | context | flag | on: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in Cali...

"Because owning a car is expensive."

That hasn't stopped families from getting multiple cars thus far, so why should that change?

"And owning a self-driving car is likely to be even more expensive."

I sincerely doubt that. Just think of all the potential for selling services and preload deals on what is basically a rolling networked computer with the user literally captured inside. You might have to pay more if you want the non-add supported version or the one without the bundled subscriptions.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#745
post #726

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the same vein, I encourage neighbors to park their cars on the street rather than in their garage or driveway so the neighborhood street becomes narrower for traffic due to a row of parked cars on each side of the street. Works better than posted speed limit.

That's just a bad idea. Cars passing through the street won't see the kids and kids won't see the cars.

It is kind of a moot point when so many cars in the USA end up crunching people on the sidewalk or their own driveway...where the kids usually are.

I'd rather have one of those people who drive distracted crash into my parked car than on my lawn.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#746
post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recently I was reading that in Europe, most cars sold don't even have automatic transmission, yet the drivers there are much safer than than people in the US or Australia. There was some speculation that because they shift gears manually, they have to pay more attention to the road and can't do things like drink coffees while driving. They also enjoy driving a lot more than we do. I wonder if other technology would h…

The driver test is super hard and expensive in France. Never got it for this reason even after spending 1k euro on it. Came to the US and got the driver license in a week for like 200$ including lessons lol

> Never got it for this reason even after spending 1k euro on it.

Really? In order to pass the test you have to pass the theory test which is just about knowing the rules of the road. Yes many experienced drivers wouldn't always pass it first time, especially when it has been a long time they got their license and laws have changed but you get it quite easily by just ready the "rulebook" and do trial tests at your driving schools until you pass tests. It is no different than passing any easy test as a student.

As for the practice, you get something like mandatory 20 to 30hours with an instructor. And most of it is just about applying the rules you already know by having passed the test above. It takes less than a handful of hours to master clutch and gearbox, same for parallel parking, rest is applying the priority rules and showing the instructor...and then the examiner that you apply them and give a quick look in all directions and your blind zone whenever you change lane or direction. It is more about feeling comfortable and confident on the car than learning really.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#747
post #367

What do we want from self driving cars? Naturally I wand a car I can summon from the pub that will drive me the 20km, over country roads, to my house while I mix cocktails or have a nap. That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it. Then what? Modern cruise control, that keeps my car a constant distance form the car in front (unless it roars off at a speed higher that what I am comfortable with) i…

> I would appreciate "automated rumble strips" that warns me gently if I veer out of my lane. Lane departure warning systems do exactly that. My mazda does this and basically between smart cruise, lane departure warnings, and big old alarms when someone in front of me suddenly hits the break, driving is SO MUCH MENTALLY EASIER. And don't get me started about blindspot alerts and HUDs oh man so amaze. I still think Le…

I rented a car with that kind of assistance yesterday and I found it annoying that the steering wheel give you some resistance when you want to go back to the main lane after overtaking a car on the opposite one!

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#748
post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working in the AV space, it's really frustrating how confidently people who have no idea about what's hard and what isn't go off about Tesla right now. Mercedes has soundly beaten the last decade of Tesla efforts by reaching L3. I've personally watched FSD go off the rails and into a crash situation within 60 seconds of being turned on three times this month (I have a friend who loves to try it in San Francisco) Had…

Working in the space appears to be misleading you. It is quite obvious that Teslas can already drive themselves - the thread ancestor literally linked a video. Your comment has complaints about an academic engineering definition/legal standard that, realistically, is probably going to be paid for in lives by delaying the roll-out and development of self driving vehicles. We know from the march of AI in other fields t…

> Nobody is being forced to drive a car with autopilot if they aren't comfortable. The risks are obvious and understood. Personal liability is fine.

What about all the others participants on the road? Should pedestrian and cyclist also take personal responsibility for getting hit by a self driving car?

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#749
post #726

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the same vein, I encourage neighbors to park their cars on the street rather than in their garage or driveway so the neighborhood street becomes narrower for traffic due to a row of parked cars on each side of the street. Works better than posted speed limit.

That's just a bad idea. Cars passing through the street won't see the kids and kids won't see the cars.

Demonstrably incorrect on my street, which has hotly contested on-street parking that narrows the roadway to a single lane. Cars have to stop and reverse into parking spaces to pass each other. Yet children play ball games in the street, and stop to move out of the way of the cars, with the cars barely needing to brake.

Children are not mindless suicide machines; they learn at a tremendous rate from their environment. The children you see around you might not survive on my street, but that's because they haven't lived there for all of their lives.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#750

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would appreciate "automated rumble strips" that warns me gently if I veer out of my lane. Lane departure warning systems do exactly that. My mazda does this and basically between smart cruise, lane departure warnings, and big old alarms when someone in front of me suddenly hits the break, driving is SO MUCH MENTALLY EASIER. And don't get me started about blindspot alerts and HUDs oh man so amaze. I still think Le…

I rented a car with that kind of assistance yesterday and I found it annoying that the steering wheel give you some resistance when you want to go back to the main lane after overtaking a car on the opposite one!

I don't think it does that if you use your turn signal, atleast that's how my car behaves.
Post reply on HN