Number 6? *NM*

They're legal in Nevada already (at least the Google car). A lot of the technology is already available in current cars. But, some feel that by 2020, a lot of these could be on our roads. Good for those people who just want an appliance to get them from point A to point B while keeping up with their Facebook and Twitter friends and fans.

Grant and MikenOH. Please avoid slide 14. It'll just have you spending the weekend crying into your beer.

Besides what the whole thing would do to the driving enthusiast, slides 19 & 20 are particularly scary.

[www.msn.com]

There are drivers like the one in slide 17 out there now.

Ed B

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Ed B
There are drivers like the one in slide 17 out there now.

Ed B

Agreed, except I don't see them as being drivers. They're riders. These are the people for whom this technology is being developed.

think of all the women that can do their makeup while on their way to work... in perfect safety.

And--all the men that will be catching up on sports scores,watching video or getting some extra sleep.

I don't think I'd buy a car with this but there probably is a market for it--among a certain age group or people that cannot avoid DUI.

The track application is thought provoking; I can imagine the owners discussing their lap times at say, VIR--"my car with the auto pilot system broke 2 minutes on the Grand Course while I was reading the paper".

Liability issues? Reliability? I'd stay away from the GM version for the first decade or so given their problematic ignition switch designs.

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MikenOH

The track application is thought provoking; I can imagine the owners discussing their lap times at say, VIR--"my car with the auto pilot system broke 2 minutes on the Grand Course while I was reading the paper".

Liability issues? Reliability? I'd stay away from the GM version for the first decade or so given their problematic ignition switch designs.

Re track application. I'd get really upset if the car didn't warn me about the rough section of track where I spilled some of my beer in corner 3. On the other hand, it might be worth it because my car beat your car in the race.

Liability and reliability are some real biggies. Specially as the cars age and you start getting electronic glitches.

What happens when snow, ice or mud obscure the sensors?

What happens when someone gains access to these cars remotely (I realize they could never be hacked ) someone could remotely control your car - and it has happened. There's On Star, even the BMW system that others out there can remotely unlock or bring your car to a stop. Scary stuff.

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Guenter in Ontario



Liability and reliability are some real biggies. Specially as the cars age and you start getting electronic glitches.

That is what I'd be concerned about the most; it's working fine until it isn't..oops

attention of the politicians -- doesn't take much ("Look! Squirrel!") -- and of course this has caused car companies to jump on board in an effort to keep in the good graces of the politicians.

I'm not sure it's the politicians that are pushing this. Think about all those drivers out there who want to be nannied because they have to have:

• Auto light switches - it's tough remembering to turn on your lights, you know.
• Cruise control that automatically matches slows or brakes according to the car in front
• Collision avoidance that brakes or stops the car to avoid an accident
• Lane control to avoid drifting into another lane
• Self parking
• and the list goes on and on

as a means of differentiating their cars from those of their competitors. It is by electronics that car makers seek to add "value" or to in some way set their product off and above the product offered by their competitors.

This is helped by dealers who order cars "loaded" as this bumps up the price and profit margin of the cars they sell. Customers are helped in accepting these higher priced cars with every increasingly extended auto loans. 3 year loans are a joke, that is rare, nowadays. 48 and even 60 month loans are getting less common. Now loan periods 72 months is gaining popularity.

No way would I ever use cruise control in fog. Auto braking - maybe. Not sure how effective the sensors are in thick fog. I'm just not sure how I'd react if my car suddenly braked on its own. Sounds scary to me. But, then I like to be in control of the car when I'm driving.

Can you get pulled over for DUI in one of these? Was thinking the only merit would be coming home after a nice dinner party where you may have had a couple of cocktails (not fall down drunk, mind you). Also, maybe on good 16-hour roadtrip where you could nap in order to drive straight through.

It's my understanding that sitting in the driver's seat with the car stationary and off, but having the key in the ignition constitutes "operating" the vehicle.
In other words, that person is in control. Perhaps this won't be the case with autonomy, and I'll bet it's already being discussed in legal/powers-that-be circles.

the operator is required to be able to assume control at any time in the event of a system malfunction which can include situations in which the system just stops working properly or a more subtle situation which requires constant vigilance to identify the system is behaving incorrectly due to (possibly) one or more sensors failing or if not failing being affected to the the point the output from the sensor is wrong and possibly wrong in such a way the autonomous controlling system does the wrong thing.

To expect a driverless car to act as a mode of transport for someone too intoxicated to legally operate a car or someone in some other compromised condition is just beyond the pale.

The only people who are going to really like "driverless" cars are the personal injury/liability lawyers. There will be a bumper crop of lawsuits. To "protect" and "nourish" and pick a winner -- driverless cars -- my fear though is the government will pass laws decreeing all driverless cars *not* being at fault in any accident -- computers "can't make a mistake" -- so any collision of a driverless car with a regular vehicle will result in the driver of the regular vehicle being blamed. This will push insurance rates of regular vehicles up which will push people towards driverless cars to be able to afford to drive. Also, drivers of regular vehicles then will be responsible for avoiding any collision with driverless cars no matter how erratic the driverless cars operate or behave. It will be like it is today avoiding collision with all the dumb ass drivers using their cell phone only more so.

If u can read & push 8/12 right, u r good 2 drive..

There are places (like CT) that merely being in the car with the key is enough to constitute DUI.

For instance, if you leave the bar and crawl in the back seat to "sleep it off" you can be charged. One would hope that prosecutors would exercise discretion and NOT charge, but they can and do. I had one case where the car was not operational - the engine was seized - and the guy was still charged. That one we ultimately got dismissed, but it took several court appearances.

Bottom line, do not think that you are safe if you are in (or around) a car while intoxicated. And do not rely on advice given on an internet board. Be extremely careful - you are in a porsche - so there is a target on you already.

The only safe things to do are to have a designated driver - or call a cab - or don't drink in the first place.

That merely having the key within the car and not necessarily in the ignition is grounds for DUI/DWI.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2015 04:53PM by Laz. (view changes)

A weird association: the age group of the people buying Cadillacs was approaching mortality; the car having a "twilight sentinel," as if the Grim Reaper was close by.
Of course, so many cars of all description have that feature now.

"More people are ready for self-driving cars" and in a survey a 3rd of the people surveyed were disappointed that they still couldn't drink alcohol while driving [sic] in a self-driving car.

What's even scarier to me is this: Overall 2/3rds of the people surveyed liked the idea of self-driving cars believing them to be safer than manually operated cars.

And we can be sure we'll read plenty more of these surveys that find (surprise!) people want self-driving cars. Here's the last paragraph: "Self-drive cars are, undoubtedly, going to be part of our future," Gpk [ a survey firm ] wrote on its blogs. "However, before they can appear on our roads it is not just the infrastructure that must be developed and managed -- it is the general public's perception and expectations."

Let the brain-washing begin.

People will be lulled to sleep and then BOOM!!!!!

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mikefocke, '01S Sanford, NC
People will be lulled to sleep and then BOOM!!!!!

And then there's the problem of the cars' electronic systems being hacked. It hasn't happened YET - but read on. Autonomous driving cars could never be hacked, Sony could never be hacked.
[www.foxnews.com]

Hackers were able to get into BMW's equipped with Connected Drive. Connected Drive allows you to do what's important - keep up with your Twitter / Facebook etc. "friends" while on the road. Not sure if it also reminds you to glance at the road every once in a while.

[www.msn.com]

[www.wsj.com]

Or rather stumbling upon / serving needs of an unintentional market? GPS restrict all self driving cars to The Villages

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2015 08:24AM by Laz.
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[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW-bFGzNMXw[/video]