The Google Car...avoiding bicyclists and ducks!

[slorydn1]

I absolutely enjoy the actual driving of the vehicle; the way the car responds to a steering/braking/throttle input. I always have, even when I drove crappy cars back in the day.
My wife has really learned to love it as well over the years-and we BOTH drive manual transmission cars




I absolutely detest riding in a car that someone else is driving, even if they are doing it safely. I can't do it for any trip longer than maybe to a local restaurant or running to the store, anything longer than that and my mental distaste for it becomes physical sickness. I don't believe it necessarily motion sickness, per se, because I can ride on trains/planes/ships with no problem but I can't handle going down the highway with someone else in control, so I'm not so sure how I would be able to handle an automated car.


I will say this much. Computers, regardless of application, will always pick the absolute most inconvenient time to crash  (in a computer term sort of way) so a manual mode will be a must have. All of us who use computers in our jobs (I suspect that pretty much all of us here) know this to be true. For you it may be designing the next great interchange, for me its processing a 911 call. When I absolutely positively need my computers to work 100 % flawlessly some sort of software glitch will rear its ugly head and if I wasn't as experienced as I am it could cause a very real problem. I still have other manual resources at my disposal and I am still proficient in the use of them so help will still get to you when you need it. If the car decides it time to reboot to safe mode in the middle of navigating a 45 mph cloverleaf ramp someone is going to have to have the capability of grabbing control of the vehicle and safely continuing the trip....or would you prefer the vehicle just automatically stopping in the middle of the road blocking it up so no one else can get around you until you can figure out how to restart the computer or wait 4 hours for the nearest I.T. tech to come to your rescue, LOL.

[Pete from Boston]

I absolutely detest riding in a car that someone else is driving, even if they are doing it safely. I can't do it for any trip longer than maybe to a local restaurant or running to the store, anything longer than that and my mental distaste for it becomes physical sickness.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but since you invited us in... not needing to absolutely always be the person to do any activity is an important social skill, never mind piece of relationship diplomacy (particularly since you're taking away your wife's chance to do something she loves).  It must be difficult when on long trips you can't switch off driving and simply have to stop making any progress. 

[/quote]If the car decides it time to reboot to safe mode in the middle of navigating a 45 mph cloverleaf ramp someone is going to have to have the capability of grabbing control of the vehicle and safely continuing the trip....[/quote]

This would require the user be at all times ready to do so.

[jeffandnicole]

One thing I've noticed about people's views and inquiries about these cars: People ask about all sorts of situations.  When followup stories are written saying that the car has handled a situation without fail, people come up with more and more situations.  Many times, normal drivers can't handle those situations very well, and are upholding a computerized car to a higher standard. 

If the car decides it time to reboot to safe mode in the middle of navigating a 45 mph cloverleaf ramp someone is going to have to have the capability of grabbing control of the vehicle and safely continuing the trip....or would you prefer the vehicle just automatically stopping in the middle of the road blocking it up so no one else can get around you until you can figure out how to restart the computer or wait 4 hours for the nearest I.T. tech to come to your rescue, LOL.

Cars are mainly computers nowadays anyway. They simply don't shut down unless there's some sort of issue.  Most cars either have keys with chips in them so the ignition can recognize the code, or the car has a key fob and a button you press to start it up.  If cars had computer issues, it would suddenly think the key wasn't there and shut it down.  Car computer systems are way more advanced than the device you are using to read this right now, and by in large won't have any issues. 

And how the hell are you going to get Google to understand how to pull into a muddy field so you can snap a photo of a sign from just the right angle?  Or trespass in a cool abandoned industrial complex with countless forking service alleys to explore?  Or stake out a corner of a busy parking lot, snapping into action and pouncing on the person walking to the best spot in the lot before anyone else does?

They handle it by putting the car into manual drive mode. Cases like that aren't what self driving cars are being designed for. Different tools for different needs.

The latest Google prototypes don't even have a manual drive mode, and the NMA speculates that manual driving will become illegal within a decade or two of self-driving cars hitting the market.

There are cars built before seatbelts were mandated that still don't need seatbelts.  I doubt there's going to be a requirement that everyone has to get a self-driving option on their car within 10 years.

The Google car will probably know it's about to hail and get you someplace safe before it happens, and will probably drive the fastest route to the hospital, rather than the way you think is best.

But, the car will still follow every sign/law/limit and still be much more conservative about possible problems ahead of it than someone trying to get their dying loved one to a hospital. That's the difference.

The problem with driving is that there's more to it than following a rulebook and set perimeters on when it's safe to proceed.

The difference between rushing to the hospital and driving there at the speed limit is probably under a minute.  You may think you're rushing there, but really the difference in speed is minor. (Before you say every minute counts, while that's true in some cases, most people needing to get to a hospital won't be experiencing a life threatening issue).  If the person is in that much of dire assistance, it's 100% better to call 911 in all cases.  If you tell the Google Car you need to get to a hospital right away, it will know where traffic is congested, and will route you the fastest way.  Taking a side street at 25 mph, which seems slow, may be faster than getting stuck in a line of traffic at a red light.  And since we're just going on theory here, if you tell the car that someone is having a heart attack, it may know to route you to a trauma center vs. a regular hospital, possibly saving additional time and steps.  And this is all very important in an area that you aren't familiar with.  Heck, even in an area you are familiar with, you probably know your main hospital, but not others nearby.

And what if the DRIVER is the one with the medical issue?  A self-driving car will park itself right at the ER door, not on the shoulder of the highway!

As for the hail, I'd be afraid of a car deciding to drive me somewhere I don't want to go because it thinks I'll be safer there. That's skynet territory.

What?  So you would rather put yourself into a bad situation and have to find a way out of it, rather than avoiding that situation whatsoever?  It's not going to take 10 minutes of hail to crack your windshield...that first ice ball could be all it takes.  I'd rather be in a safe area - even if I don't know what's happening - rather than driving miles down a road looking for that next overpass (which is probably already crowded with other vehicles taking cover).

[vdeane]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure most people are interested in the trip itself, seeing the scenery, doing things with friends/family... not the actual act of driving.  I, on the other hand, find driving on even the same old suburban streets that I seen every single day to be relaxing.

The difference between rushing to the hospital and driving there at the speed limit is probably under a minute.  You may think you're rushing there, but really the difference in speed is minor. (Before you say every minute counts, while that's true in some cases, most people needing to get to a hospital won't be experiencing a life threatening issue).

Not if, by driving 20+ mph over the limit, you manage to slip through right before a long light... or just run the light if it's safe to do so.  And isn't it a time honored tradition that the soon-to-be father take advantage of his wife going into labor to drive 100 mph down the freeway, getting a police escort instead of a ticket if pulled over?

If the person is in that much of dire assistance, it's 100% better to call 911 in all cases.

So you can wait half an hour for an ambulance?

What?  So you would rather put yourself into a bad situation and have to find a way out of it, rather than avoiding that situation whatsoever?  It's not going to take 10 minutes of hail to crack your windshield...that first ice ball could be all it takes.  I'd rather be in a safe area - even if I don't know what's happening - rather than driving miles down a road looking for that next overpass (which is probably already crowded with other vehicles taking cover).

Not knowing what's happening would drive me NUTS.  I can't deal with not knowing.  And what exactly is a "safe" area?  If it's hailing out, an overpass is probably the only place covered.

[Rothman]

DATA!

[andy]

If the person is in that much of dire assistance, it's 100% better to call 911 in all cases.

So you can wait half an hour for an ambulance?

In a fully automated system, the vehicle should coordinate it's movements with other vehicles and traffic control systems to gain an advantage and if possible arrange and intercept with an ambulance for initiation of medical care. This would not be an override situation.

And back to the topic, I do not envision any system that does not have some level of override, but there will be reserved road systems where it is not allowed. Even then I would hope the system would seek human advice when confused, though I could envision it not always being the vehicle occupants.