Get Ready For Freeways That Ban Human Drivers

Robot Rides May Force Error-Prone Human Motorists Off The Road

"New rules of the road for robot cars coming out of Washington this week could lead to the eventual extinction of one of the defining archetypes of the past century: the human driver.

While banning people from driving may seem like something from a Kurt Vonnegut short story, it’s the logical endgame of a technology that could dramatically reduce -- or even eliminate -- the 1.25 million road deaths a year globally. Human error is the cause of 94 percent of roadway fatalities, U.S. safety regulators say, and robot drivers never get drunk, sleepy or distracted.

Autonomous cars already have “superhuman intelligence” that allows them to see around corners and avoid crashes, said Danny Shapiro, senior director of automotive at Nvidia Corp., a maker of high-speed processors for self-driving cars.

“Long term, these vehicles will drive better than any human possibly can,” Shapiro said. “We’re not there yet, but we will get there sooner than we believe.”

You know, I hate to say this, but after the video Anchorman just posted of that truck crash, I'm beginning to think autonomous vehicles might not be such a horrible idea after all. I personally hate the thought that I would have to let a computer drive me around, but I really really hate the literally hundreds of fatalities that occur daily on our roads. It's sickening.

You know, I think 'll get a driverless/ automated motorcycle. Then I shouldn't have any transporttion problems.

Yeah, And computers make our lives easier. And there will be no more paperwork. And the checks in the mail.

My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And now on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire where my
White-haired uncle waits

Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream

I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime

Wind In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge

Well-oiled leather
Hot metal and oil
The scented country air

Sunlight on chrome
The blur of the landscape
Every nerve aware

Suddenly ahead of me
Across the mountainside
A gleaming alloy air-car
Shoots towards me two lanes wide
Oh, I spin around with shrieking tires
To run the deadly race
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase

Ride like the wind
Straining the limits
Of machine and man
Laughing out loud with fear and hope
I've got a desperate plan

At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded
At the riverside
Race back to the farm
To dream with my uncle
At the fireside

I haven't heard that song in ages.

Great song, I used to be a major fan. Still am I guess. LOL

JJ

Hey Jim, thanks for posting that!

Here's my thoughts on this whole "autonomous car" thing, and I realize it probably shows just how "old school" I am, but really, it baffles me.

For generations now cars have been purchased by "drivers." Passengers don't buy cars, "drivers" do. Also for generations the car manufacturers have marketed their cars to "drivers." Man, even as a youngster I remember enjoying the feeling of my dad kind of pressing down on that accelerator a little heavily and us zooming off to some destination we had decided upon, like maybe a camping spot, or a favorite fishing hole. The whole thrill of owning a car is driving that darn thing!

We've got so many choices in cars, and we love that. We can get 'em with turbo charged engines, independent suspensions, four wheel disc brakes, leather seats, and a whole spectrum of options that are all designed to not only satisfy our desires as drivers, but even to give us an emotional thrill that motivates us to lay out our hard earned money in a big way. We love our cars, because we love to drive them!

Now some techno geniuses have decided that it would be really cool if they could develop a "driver-less" car.

Well, I guess I can concede the idea is a cool one, but I do not know a single person in my vast acquaintances who is just slobbering over when they can purchase one of these lackluster forms of transportation. Now you put a picture of a slick new BMW, or a Corvette in front of them and that kicks in something deep inside them that will make them spend their income on it. Why is that? We love the feeling we get from driving a machine that responds to us! I remember Chevrolet using as a slogan the very real and true statement, "It's not just a car, it's your freedom!"

After all this time do these techno-whizbangs think we are going to give up all that we hold dear just so that we can sit around bored to death in a car that drives us? It is totally backwards thinking - we are drivers! If we wanted to be passengers we would have all quit buying automobiles years ago and switched to using public transportation. I realize I'm probably sounding crazy, but I think these folks are wasting their time and money on this project. In business, no matter how slick or genius your product is, you are going to fail without the key ingredient to success. What is that ingredient? Customers!

They of course, have already considered this, and that is why they have already started making attempts at marketing this product as a deterrent to highway deaths and accidents. Once they can get the government behind this idea they can get a head of steam on this project. Not so fast, I say! I have employed a good amount of people and owned a good amount of manufacturing equipment which was powered by software. The computer software and hardware failed just as much as the people. I realize I am probably way behind the curve on this, but I just don't see this going very far.

People love their cars because they love to drive them, they relish the thrill and excitement of driving, of being in control. Brett spent a good deal of money last year on having a racing engine built to put into his "old truck." He did this on top of the fact that he could purchase a new truck, and did. Now he has two trucks, both of which he enjoys driving. Why would he spend all that money on a racing engine to go into an old truck that probably wouldn't even sell for a few thousand dollars to a person who wanted to purchase it? He did that for the thrill of "driving It."

Okay, my rant is over. I won't ever purchase a driver-less car, and I don't know of anybody else who is wanting one.

I suspect that commercial vehicles will maintain drivers. Otherwise it would be WAY too easy to steal cargos. Shoot out a steer tire of a truck, then the cameras when it stops, crack it open and grab stuff.

Remember that we've already experimented with vehicles that can move hundreds of trucks with only a single driver. Trains.

Also, remember that we're supposed, by law, to be using the metric system for commercial purposes in the US.

I simply can't see automated vehicles completely taking over, though I could easily see a couple lanes on major interstates being devoted to them.

Old school most of us "drivers" are the old school type of thinkers. These driverless cars are really being marketed to the city kid millennial. Those kids don't want to drive at all. The problem is you can't have driverless cars unless they are all driverless. I mean we have all been through Chicago Atlanta Seattle during a daily rush hour and some of the things 4 wheelers do just confound us as human drivers. Can you imagine what it would do the logic programs of a computer lol. I personally am ok with them making the cars for general public but it is going to be at least 10 to 20 years before they become mainstream even for cars let alone semi trucks