Would you buy one of these?

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GFC

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I was reading an article in the paper this morning about driverless cars being available for purchase in about 5 years. That got me to thinking if I would buy one.

I decided I probably wouldn't because I don't really see a need for one. I enjoy driving. Being retired, we take a lot of day trips around the Phoenix area to explore places and events and I don't mind driving. Even on longer trips I find it relaxing. Driving that is, not being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic in a miles long traffic jam.

That got me to wondering how many people I know would likely buy one and I don't think may would.

So, what say you? Would you be likely to buy a driverless car?
 
Be sure to play the trolley game first! http://moralmachine.mit.edu/

I appreciated on a recent Grand Tour episode, how Jeremy Clarkson described how a pedestrian could herd self driving cars into an alley by standing in front of them. ?
 
It will start with long commuters. Let the car drive while you surf the net. Then the old will buy in they have money and they can’t see or react. Then the young will buy because the won’t need to learn to drive. Finally you will be forced to buy a driverless car because insurance won’t be available for driving. Can’t give you a time line but I doubt you will be driving 20 years from now.
 
Where the weather is nice absolutely. But perhaps a bit longer in heavy snow country.
 
Both of my parents had to stop driving as they aged. A good friend recently took the car keys from his 94 year old mother. Luckily her 92 year old boy friend is still a pretty good driver.

A time will come when each of us shouldn’t drive anymore. I’m hoping these self driving cars will allow me the freedom of travel I have now.

In the mean time, the additional cameras and sensors being put on cars now will prevent many accidents. I’ll take all the help I can get.

I watched my buddy back up to a trailer with the help of a backup camera the other day. Following is a picture of his first try.
 

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Driverless cars will change the way we transport ourselves. I expect that very few will be individually owned. They will be run as taxis and will cost less to hire than driving your own car.
 
Probably not, atleast not right away. In the beginning, like most things, they will likely be quite expensive. My days of being an early adopter are over. I'll wait for the price to drop and for them to work the bugs out. Seems like most of the problems could be overcome, I just don't want to be the person who first experiences them.

Ted
 
GFC said:
I was reading an article in the paper this morning about driverless cars being available for purchase in about 5 years. That got me to thinking if I would buy one.

I decided I probably wouldn't because I don't really see a need for one. I enjoy driving. Being retired, we take a lot of day trips around the Phoenix area to explore places and events and I don't mind driving. Even on longer trips I find it relaxing. Driving that is, not being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic in a miles long traffic jam.

That got me to wondering how many people I know would likely buy one and I don't think may would.

So, what say you? Would you be likely to buy a driverless car?
Click to expand...

A lot of people are going to say what they won't do in the future, myself included. However, we will. I can't say when. The next car I buy will have an autopilot. I don't have a need for it, don't want it, but it will come on it as standard equipment. I don't know if or when I'll use it.
 
I thought the point wasn’t to own one but rather to summon one from my phone or Alexa. ;)
 
Wifey B: Tesla Roadster will have it when it arrives so yes. :hide: That's still 2 years away or more though.

Tesla 3 owners upset theirs don't have it standard as they thought all Tesla's did, but 3's are just set up for it as an option. :ermm:
 
I think the time-frame is a lot further out than people are predicting.

There was just -- yet another, that's right, they're more common than you realize -- crash of a Tesla in auto-driving mode the other day. Tesla's response was, in essence, "We put in the disclaimer that the car requires a driver who is fully attentive, and this driver wasn't." Yeah. Sure. Give me a break! You build a device that you KNOW is going to encourage people to NOT be attentive, and then try to weasel out of lawsuits by claiming that you told them they had to be attentive. There are going to be some spectacular lawsuits in the very near future, and I suspect that is going to slow down the advance of driverless cars dramatically.

Then, too, I read a while ago that a test was done where street signs were deliberately vandalized -- like changing a "speed limit 35" into a "speed limit 65" -- and in 100% of the cases all current auto-driving cars were fooled. 100% of the cases! They are definitely going to have to get that sort of thing sussed out before these can become broadly used. Because you just KNOW that there are creeps out there who will think it is funny to vandalize signs and watch the driverless cars do crazy, dangerous things.

Would I buy one? That will depend on a lot of different variables, at the time that they become reliable and widely available.

Main point, though, is that people are saying it is right around the corner, and I just don't believe that.
 
I'm not sure I'd ever buy one. When I see the accidents involving driverless cars it's almost always the fault of the other vehicle, but I can't help but wonder if human eyes might have seen the accident developing earlier and might have avoided the accident.

Another concern, if the AI software misses something and you are hit and injured or killed by a driverless vehicle, what insurance company picks up the tab for your injuries--yours, the insurance company of the driverless car manufacturer, the other owner's insurance?

Going to be some interesting questions for the courts to figure out.
 
GFC said:
Another concern, if the AI software misses something and you are hit and injured or killed by a driverless vehicle, what insurance company picks up the tab for your injuries--yours, the insurance company of the driverless car manufacturer, the other owner's insurance?

Going to be some interesting questions for the courts to figure out.
Click to expand...

Yup. Did you take the MIT questionnaire in my previous link?

To me, it clarifies the ethical problem with self driving cars.

The reality is that they cars will require to be integrated as part of a transportation system, and not autonomous.

I believe that everyone is currently working on autonomy so they can be the one to propose the standard to a regulating body for the system.

Betamax vs. VHS.

Hopefully the standard works better than, say, NMEA 2000. [emoji3]
 
denverd0n said:
I think the time-frame is a lot further out than people are predicting.

.
Click to expand...

With Tesla there are two degrees of activity. Autopilot, or now Enhanced Autopilot, is here and in cars today. Full self driving is additional to that and ultimately will be limited by regulatory approval. Enhanced autopilot uses 4 cameras, full self driving uses 8.

I believe the software and systems for full self driving will be available very soon as they're being refined constantly. How far it will go and what safety features are necessary to be sure an operator is present and alert, is a much bigger issue. We have a "2020?" roadster on order but no bets on when it will be here or what technology.
 
Greetings,
Mr. GFC. I think Mr. NS. has hit upon the crux of the potential inherent problems associated with a purely autonomous system. Until such time that enough of the continent is interconnected to allow movement, not just within cities, but between cities in a safe seamless fashion, summoning your ride and sitting back and relaxing isn't going to happen.

As mentioned, legalities will be a nightmare to figure out.

Hopefully the bugs will be worked out before our chauffeur, Elvis, retires...

200w.gif


Edit: Just found this: https://www.popsci.com/self-driving-car-scale
 
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I see some wonderful potentials for auto-driving cars. Decreases in DWI, mobility for disabled (whether that means elderly, site-impaired or those whom handicapped accessible controls are not suitable). Longer drive times without the need to stop for sleep. Or reductions in 'drowsy driving accidents. Imagine someone being able to get to a doctors visit without requiring a friend or family member.

No, I probably won't get one anytime soon. However, I can certainly see a lot of benefits.
 
I forgot the biggest benefit in my mind. The faster the travel speed the greater the amount of 'white space'. That is to say, the more space needed between any two cars travelling down the same road in the same direction.

self-driving cars could have the potential to have many cars travelling inches from each other at very high speeds. Rather than continually widening and building infrastructure to accomodate volume, allow more 'bandwidth' (significantly greater volume over time over the same sized road).
 
After 40 years in IT I would never let a computer drive my car.

Most companies outsource their coding to the lower bidder.

No one ever tests anything.
 
alormaria said:
After 40 years in IT I would never let a computer drive my car.

Most companies outsource their coding to the lower bidder.

No one ever tests anything.
Click to expand...

I assume then you'd never fly on a plane either?
 
I think a lot of the comments posted here are a reflection of the aging demographics of the forum members. It's coming, as are electric powered cars & trucks as a mainstream transport power source.
 
Andy G said:
I think a lot of the comments posted here are a reflection of the aging demographics of the forum members. It's coming, as are electric powered cars & trucks as a mainstream transport power source.
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I admit that when self driving cars first became a topic, I thought all involved had lost their minds and was shocked at the investments they were making. I thought it could never work. Well, they've proven the concept, just haven't worked through all the details. Along the way some other positives have been developed. We have a Mercedes Sprinter Van with all the safety bells and whistles from lane keeping to blind spot monitoring to collision prevention assist. We didn't buy it for safety, bought it to carry a lot of people. However, I admit to liking it and feeling safer in it and, in turn, find it far more pleasant to drive than I expected.

Autopilot is this generation's cruise control. Collision prevention is this generation's ABS. I don't know where it will lead but cars have gotten so much safer with each generation. I don't see self driving with no driver, but I can picture like on a boat with autopilot and a watch.

I never expected the progress this fast, but it's continuing and I'll buy a car with all the bells and whistles. I won't let it auto drive with no one at the wheel watching, but I will test it's functionality. Meanwhile through this all we'll make another huge leap forward in safety as they've realized things they can build into the intelligence of cars.

Same arguments as Autopilot on boats. Dangerous if you rely totally on it. Great though if you use it to allow yourself to keep a better watch on the water, or the road. Many of the arguments against were my grandfather's argument against cruise control. He was furious when he couldn't buy a car without it.
 
I had my first taste of ‘near’ driverless cars when I got a Jeep Grand Cherokee with all the bells and whistles three years ago. Lane assist, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, auto braking etc. At first I was slow to utilize the features to the full extent but soon grew to love them. I would put on the adaptive cruise control as soon as I get on the road at say 70 mph and wouldn’t switch it off till I arrived at my destination. If I got behind a truck that was doing 55 on the highway, it would slow down and keep one of the three pre selected distances from the vehicle ahead. Once the lane to the left was clear, just pull out into the lane and as you are pulling out the car accelerated to the pre selected speed. It worked well in town also, just keeping pace with traffic. The only issue was with even the shortest pre-selected safe distance the gap to the car ahead was enough that someone would always cut in front and the car would brake to maintain distance to the new vehicle allowing enough space for yet another car to cut in front. This got really annoying on the highway when the left lane had a slow poke and the faster cars were weaving to get around it. But otherwise, all I had to do was steer. My foot used to hover over the break pedal for the first six months or so until I learned to trust the algorithm. It really made highway driving much more pleasant on my frequent 400 mile trips.
As far as vandalized signs etc., I expect that they will add in a gps mapping program similar to Waze. All the speed limits on the road are programmed in as are timed school zones, red light cameras etc. I don’t expect they will rely on a sensor reading road signs.
 
I'd argue that we're are not ready for a driverless car, but there's a lot of automation already there, if one wants it.

I'd be surprised if we end up with total driverless, ever. There's still someone needed to make a decision when things go wrong.

Even with all the automation in flying, drones, etc., there's still a decision maker.

But the automation is impressive. A modern jet can fly an entire route from wheels up to taxi in, fully automated where the pilot doesn't have to touch anything. He does have to take off and put the wheels up, and taxi in at the other end. And he is still needed, and two are still requited.

But there's talk in replacing one of the pilots with a dog. The dog will be there to bite the pilot if he touches the controls.
 
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