Self Driving Cars

[JB400]

With London getting 100 sdc's next year, and 10% forecasted to make up of auto industry sales by 2035, what's your opinion?  Could you live with KITT in your driveway?

[tan top]

might be a good idea , for a certain generation , that way they could text all the time while driving , & not just  some of the time

[Aero426]

might be a good idea , for a certain generation , that way they could text all the time while driving , & not just  some of the time

Scary thing is that THIS is the kind of car THAT generation wants.   

[polywideblock]

so to put it in our generations terms we could have a cuppa and read the paper on the way to work    instead of doing the morning melt down   

[cavemanno1]

so to put it in our generations terms we could have a cuppa and read the paper on the way to work    instead of doing the morning melt down   

Hey,i will drive you there!You could call me James

[Indygenerallee]

Self driving cars? who needs that when you have a self JUMPING car being saved by the Incredible Hulk from being turned into a Prius....  
  http://youtu.be/fjqlzuH0pgM

[ws23rt]

My mind wanders a bit when thinking about this.  How would it be in heavy traffic when most other cars are self driving?

Also-- what if we could give our self driving car a personality that fits the kind of the car it is?

A little arrogance mixed with high performance

[FlatbackFanatic]

If you need a self driving car, then you should take a bus or some other mass transit...

[polywideblock]

but its the taking the bus or train with hundreds  of other people coughing all over you that's the problem

  this would be get in and go , just you  or you and your family

[stripedelete]

My mind wanders a bit when thinking about this.  How would it be in heavy traffic when most other cars are self driving?

No kidding.  Mine wanders too:

Would they be cutting each other off?  Cruising in the left lane 20 MPH slower than traffic?  Even better, the car automatically moves to the left lane and slows down when the occupant starts to text.  They could automatically drive around the grocery store parking 8 times only to get a space 6 feet closer than what they could have had when they pulled in.   I wonder if they will linger after light turns green while the occupant finishes their text?

After all, who do think will be programming these things?    

[Ghoste]

I'd hate it myself but given that there are a lot of people who shouldn't be behind the wheel under any circumstances, and the bemoaning of bar owners as drinking wanes and legalizing pot and the ability for big brother to track and control a vehicle like this and a government that loves to think on our behalf and a populace that wants them to, I don't see it not happening.

[Mike DC]

If you need a self driving car, then you should take a bus or some other mass transit...

That's the whole point, mass transit is what many fans of self-driving cars WANT.  But modern cities are too sprawled out to make MT work very well in a lot of places. 

And a lot of other places are just so car-leaning that nobody wants to take mass transit because of it.  Which means the people you are surrounded by on mass transit are, well . . yeah.  Chicken and egg.  Nobody uses mass transit if they can avoid it, because nobody else who can possibly avoid it is using it. 


I love driving in fun circumstances as much as the next guy.  But sitting in gridlock on a Los Angeles freeway commute, for example?  That's not driving, that's pissing away a couple hours a day staring at the back end of an SUV at 5 mph.  Please, install K.I.T.T. into my dashboard for that and let me relax & eat breakfast. 

[Highbanked Hauler]

I'll probably never see it but I have no doubt it will happen. The younger generation loves technology and look how far it has come in 20 years. Wait till anti-gravity technology gets here.

[Tilar]

What would be the purpose in having a car if you don't drive it? 

[Old Moparz]

It seems like a good idea, but give them their own lane like the high occupancy commuter lanes. Mass transit outside of an older, well established, city is an absolute joke. I got so used to the buses, & subways in New York City that I took them for granted. After moving to a suburban area that had only 2 bus routes that only went down the 2 main roads during rush hour only, I realized there is no way to survive living there without a car.

[War wagon]

No Never will that be a good idea IMHO .
The FREEDOM of DRIVING an automobile is one of the great joys in life too me. The
Ability to go where you want ,when you want ,for as long as you want.
Stressed out after a bad day, take a cruise ...., oh wait the roads aren't programmed for random unscheduled usage....
No thanks!!!!!

[Fred]

so to put it in our generations terms we could have a cuppa and read the paper on the way to work    instead of doing the morning melt down   

Isn't that what public transports for?

[Fred]

If you need a self driving car, then you should take a bus or some other mass transit...

I second that.   

[Ghoste]

Me 3.

[Fred]

It's to idiotic for words. Are we becoming such a mindless lot that we need machines to do the thinking for us. Are we no longer capable of getting ourselves from A to B without the assistance of self driven cars?

Will the next Generation be born without brains? it seems we no longer need them......oops, of course we do. We still need to wipe our arses until someone can come up with a machine to do it for us.

First and foremost.........I will never ever trust any machine to do for me what I can do perfectly well for myself!

[polywideblock]

in the year 2525 

[dyslexic teddybear]

It's to idiotic for words. Are we becoming such a mindless lot that we need machines to do the thinking for us. Are we no longer capable of getting ourselves from A to B without the assistance of self driven cars?

Will the next Generation be born without brains? it seems we no longer need them......oops, of course we do. We still need to wipe our arses until someone can come up with a machine to do it for us.

First and foremost.........I will never ever trust any machine to do for me what I can do perfectly well for myself!

Well put.

[Mike DC]

It's not about being unable to drive, it's about making better use of that time every day. 

[Ghoste]

I totally get what Mike is saying about gridlock traffic.  But that goes hand in hand with the point about mass transit too.

[Tilar]

It's not about being unable to drive, it's about making better use of that time every day. 

Yeah because there is just no other time to read the morning paper except while I am on my way to work.   

[Baldwinvette77]

I not sure how this will work out, but if the car can drive my drunk ass home from the bar legally, more power to it. 

[Ghoste]

True, but a cab can do that too.

[Tilar]

I not sure how this will work out, but if the car can drive my drunk ass home from the bar legally, more power to it. 

Unless you can teach that thing to put your drunk ass in the car and start itself and then take you home, Johnny law will still find a way to fine you for it.

[polywideblock]

what people are missing is that it's not for going for a drive in the country or to the next state to see relatives. its for the morning commute ,running kids to school  ,going shopping (you know that hour or so you sit in the car and scream at the guy in front/side of you). just think if you could go to work be dropped off and car takes its self home for wifey to use (take kids to school do shopping) and then just tot along in time to be there waiting for you in the afternoon . yes public transport does that now,  but come on  be honest   who's got on one of those smelly   germ infested   buses or trains that your all spaying " catch a bus/train ?  unless unemployed and penniless no way! even then i'll walk . seems someone else is a little bit antisocial and would like their own "space " while traveling to work    

[Ghoste]

When I lived in larger urban centers, I used the bus and the train many times.  Nearly every day in fact.  And when I visit one of those areas now, if I drive in, the first thing I do is park my car where I am staying and use the mass transit as much as possible.  Easy and cheap.  So yes, I still support that position.

[dyslexic teddybear]

Have seen a similar discussion on another forum......

From the info I got there, there's some huge issues to be solved. A quick sum up, best chance of it working would be in limited access, dedicated commuter lanes. I don't remember all the down sides that were discussed......but one of, if not the major one, was it would not mix well with non self-drivers. For it to really be efficient, the cars had to "talk" to each other.

Wasn't interested enough to really study it......it's not something I want to see.  

[ws23rt]

Most of us that are older than our chargers will remember that driving somewhere many times was the end in itself.

Cars that were made for fun driving caused road trips.  There seems little room for that in urban areas these days.

If driving becomes a chore than it may as well be done by the car

I agree that self driving cars would not mix well with those trying to control one themselves. With safety as a concern and lawyers needing work I see a transition as a very long complicated process

[polywideblock]

they could share the bus lane with busses and pushbikes    ,keeps them all where we know were they are   

[TruckDriver]

Everyone that thinks it's a good idea until there is a glitch in the GPS system, and it crashes. Needless to say, a lot of people would die then if that happened. I think it is a dumb idea. Actually scares me a bit.

[JB400]

In some ways, I can see this as a good idea for the benefits already mentioned, and those that can't drive anymore because of old age or weak eyes.  However, I believe this will be a fad, much like the micro car craze in the 50's.  There will be those that want one because it's the newest and greatest thing since sliced bread.  But, with cars that take the human element out of driving, I think the insurance industry will put in its  and then some more, and prevent these from taking hold.  With more and more cars like these out on the road, accidents will be less likely, thus no need for auto insurance.  It'd be hard on them to increase their rates if no claims were made.  They'd have to depend more on human controlled vehicles to get their money from.  Considering the pull the insurance companies have, I doubt that they will allow too many of these on the road.

If these are allowed on the road, and the technology is allowed to progress, I say we'll all end up with vehicles that look like Smartcars that will link together like a train for aerodynamics, but will break away to allow each person to go where they need to go.  I predict that roads in a traditional sense will disappear and we'll end up with something like a maglev train track.  The days of going for a drive on an old country road will be gone.  This might be the future in the next 100 years assuming that there is no apocalypse that will disrupt human technological progression.  Time will tell.

For me personally, I'd rather drive.  The wow factor of jumping behind the wheel of an automobile and seeing the world at a moments notice is still there for me.  I guess it's the factors that I can control, makes it exciting.  The ones I can't control 

[Mike DC]

I agree the practical problems with self-drivers would probably limit it to controlled areas full of other self-drivers only. 


But it would be great for the trucking industry. 

Give them their own lanes on the highway separate from the rest of us self-drivers. They could also set up trucks with less maneuverability because they wouldn't be dodging regular drivers.  They could increase the amount of trailers being pulled by one tractor, like they do in Australia and other places.

Develop this stuff far enough, and you have . . . trains!  What a concept!  The cutting edge of cargo moving in the 19th century!   

[Fred]

True, but a cab can do that too.

Yeah but cabs cost money.  

I not sure how this will work out, but if the car can drive my drunk ass home from the bar legally, more power to it. 

On the other hand, you'll still get into trouble if you're drunk......even if you let the car drive you home. You have to sit behind the wheel at all times (you can't be a passenger) and you're still the person responsible for the car, in other words, you're in charge.........but you can't be if you're drunk.

[Ghoste]

Yes cabs do cost money, but I'm willing to bet my life savings these SDC things won't be free.