How Would Driver-less Cars Change Motoring? 648
Hugh Pickens writes "BBC reports that as Nevada licenses Google to test its prototype driver-less car on public roads, futurists are postulating what a world of driver-less would cars look like. First, accidents would go down. 'Your automated car isn't sitting around getting distracted, making a phone call, looking at something it shouldn't be looking at or simply not keeping track of things,' says Danny Sullivan. Google's car adheres strictly to the speed limit and follows the rules of the road. 'It doesn't speed, it doesn't cut you off, it doesn't tailgate,' says Tom Jacobs, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver-less cars would mean a more productive commute. 'If you truly trust the intelligence of the vehicle, then you get in the vehicle and you do our work while you're traveling,' says engineer Lynne Irwin. They would mean fewer traffic jams. 'Congestion would be something you could tell your grandchildren about, once upon a time.' Driver-less cars could extend car ownership to some groups of people previously unable to own a car, including elderly drivers who feel uncomfortable getting behind the wheel at night, whose eyesight has weakened or whose reaction time has slowed."
Another reader points out an article suggesting autonomous cars could eventually spell the end of auto insurance.
Re:It just doesn't work (Score:5, Interesting)
1) First time poster
2) Post appears within same minute as story, despite being well over 500 words
3) Subtle plug for Bing maps
4) General gist of "Google Cars will kill people!"
Either bonch is again trying out his sockpuppets, or someone is trying to astroturf Slashdot again.
In the meantime, I look forward to hopping into my Google car and taking a nap while driving to Tahoe. As a matter of fact, driving might become really something you do while you have other things to do - like sleep, eat, work, or just read. I'd love it. There is no reason for anyone to drive.
Can already have all that (Score:2, Interesting)
Pretty funny: all those "advantages" can already be had by using public transportation. Cheaper too. Kind of easy to overlook nowadays.
S
Re:Driver-less cars would eliminate car ownership (Score:5, Interesting)
And alternatively again, while some people wouldn't be able to afford a car that they have now, some families will be able to get by with fewer cars. Imagine a world where my wife goes to work 30 minutes before I do, and sends the car back for me to use; then I send it to pick up my teenager from school, who sends it back to my wife, who picks me up on the way and we all go home. If we're postulating a world where trust is high enough to read and do work while in the operator's (I hesitate to say driver's) seat, there's a very small jump from there to the car that can go to a destination sans passengers entirely.
And of course, that says nothing about how it would revolutionize the statistically very dangerous world of truck driving (though I suspect the truck drivers might not be too happy about that, I'm sure they can get a lobby together to make sure that entirely autonomous semi's never get approved).
Since driver less cars will need to receive roadmap updates, you might discover that a place you went to yesterday was no longer accessible.
I don't think anyone is seriously considering cars without some kind of manual override. Though in the long term I suppose it's possible.
Same old same old (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember when flying cars were going to solve all our problems.
Back in the real world there are a few tests followed by hype followed by 'this invention will solve every problem we currently have!' followed by glowing endorsements of the first release followed by a huge collection of new problems discovered by the early adopters followed by a new technology that will 'solve every problem we have with the last new technology that turned out to be nowhere near as magical as predicted!'.
Yeah, these cars will be better in some circumstances but they'll be worse in others and they'll create new problems of their own. They certainly won't bring an end to insurance because they will hit things and they will crash and they will leave you with a huge payout to the victims if you're not insured.
End of traffic jams? (Score:2, Interesting)
How anyone thinks this will be the end of traffic is beyond me.
and +1 insightful for first 2 or 3 that if this happens, it will be the end of personally-owned vehicles.
Traffic is a result of ( volume of cars) > (capacity of road).
Unless these driverless cars can also change work schedules, the majority of people will still be hitting the roads at the same time.
Heck, we can see this now. In any larger city, we all know how internet performance degrades after 4PM when the tweens & teens get home from school, and on weekends when the rest of us are fragging those little buggers online. Wait for next Sunday (Mother's Day, at least in US) when all the Skype, oovoo, and other voip calls are getting placed. If the algorithms that govern ethernet collisions have not eliminated "traffic" delays, how is Google going to eliminate traffic with reality-based steel& rubber boxes that cannot be resent if the 'packet' doesn't reach a destination address?
Besides, I take my "it will happen in the future" clues from the Sci-Fi of today.
I haven't seen anything with (plentiful cars) && (no traffic)
- Blade Runner, Futurama, The Fifth Element, Dr.Who" gridlock", Total Recall, and probably many more.
Traffic may be more organized, but it will still be dense traffic.
What if bad things happen? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Sounds great (Score:4, Interesting)
Would be nice, but doesn't work, because there are times ("rush hour") where everyone is trying to use their vehicle at once. Given that, either the fleet companies would need to have enough cars to cover the peak (which would be prohibitively expensive), or you'd find you couldn't get a car when you wanted one (which, after it occurred a few times, would set you shopping for a personal vehicle).
Re:Can already have all that (Score:5, Interesting)
Pretty funny: all those "advantages" can already be had by using public transportation. Cheaper too. Kind of easy to overlook nowadays.
S
Well, they were not comparing it to public transportation. They were comparing driverLESS cars to cars with drivers. If they were comparing it to public transportation, they would have mentioned things like, you can leave directly from your house, you can change your mind mid trip, you can leave whenever you like and not be tied to a bus schedule, there are no transfers, you can make impulse stops at stores and restaurants, you car does not have "hours of operation", and many many other advantages to driving your own vehicle as opposed to public transportation.
Eventually, though, this system will be much like public transportation, except with the advantages I listed above. There will be routes designated for driverless travel. For example, the freeways may have a driverless lane, much like an HOV lane, whereas you may have to man the steering wheel while in neighborhoods. Efficiency will be greatly improved with constant speeds and drafting. Maybe not to the level of public transportation, but certainly better than now. It may even be possible to put rails on these roads to power electric vehicles, which would surpass public transportation (it would be more efficient as your vehicle does not have to stop and every single stop and then start back up again). The way I see it, driverless cars could be better than public transportation in every way, maybe with the exception of efficiency.
In the end, our cars will be more like a small bedroom, living room or office. We'll have a couch and a TV/monitor or a desk with a computer or whatever you want. There will be no steering wheel, gas pedal, or designated seats. If the system works well enough, we won't even need seat belts. Every car will be like a limo without a driver. I don't know if any of us will live to see that day.
Re:Driver-less cars would eliminate car ownership (Score:5, Interesting)
Or how about no one no longer needing to own a car becasue they are autmated and have a car sitting not doing anyting is a waste.
You just pay your 50 bucks a month to be a member of a car pool.
Buses won't be needed any more, fewer parking lots, less congestion.
I suspect there will be different kinds of pools at different cost.
A pool of automated vans that ;pick up 12 people on the way to work, comfort car pool where a luxury car picks yo up. Sports car pool.
It gets real interesting with automated Motor Cycles.
Re:There won't be an end to insurance (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm inclined to think otherwise. There's a booming market for cheap insurance, so insurers will jump at anything they can do to charge lower rates and still turn a profit, just to stay competitive.
Automated vehicles are a godsend, because it reduces the biggest source of unexpected claims. Add on ancillary features like monitoring your adherence to speed limits, the crime rate where your car is parked for long periods, and the time between maintenance checkups, and the insurer has a nice way to identify their safest clients to offer a well-advertised discount, and their riskiest drivers to raise their premiums.
Miles Driven Will Go Up (Score:5, Interesting)
I think if these take off (and I hope they will) we'll see a substantial increase in miles driven. Not just from people sending their cars back home to get someone else (it will be a while before they allow unoccupied driverless cars, I imagine), but from trips which were previously too tedious. If I can come home from work on Friday evening, get in my self driving car with the family, and wake up in Orlando or Cape Cod, I'm much more likely to take such trips over a weekend. I bet it would double the miles I put on in a year; if everyone was doing that type of thing, it'd put a big strain on gasoline supplies. Hopefully their introduction will tie in to increases in efficiency.
Re:Sounds great (Score:4, Interesting)
Would be nice, but doesn't work, because there are times ("rush hour") where everyone is trying to use their vehicle at once. Given that, either the fleet companies would need to have enough cars to cover the peak (which would be prohibitively expensive), or you'd find you couldn't get a car when you wanted one (which, after it occurred a few times, would set you shopping for a personal vehicle).
Ah, but most of the problem with 'rush hour' is that the majority of those cars are only carrying one, or maybe two passengers.
A city-wide routing system should be able to plan a route to pick up a dozen or so people who are starting from / traveling to similar places, and get it all done in one vehicle. To prevent it from being just like a bus ride, subway or shared taxi (congested, noisy, kids beside you blaring their youtube videos, people breathing down the back of your neck, etc.), all the designers would have to do is build cars/vans that had segregated one / two / four person compartments, each with it's own external door (think a stretch limo with several doors on each side and a wall down the middle). Then you just swipe your pass/phone/whatever to confirm it's you, get in and relax, ignoring any other pickups or drop-offs until you get to your stop (car could 'bing' you at your stop, in case you dozed off).
Higher end services could even stock a mini-bar in each compartment, for those who want to unwind a bit before dinner. :o) Or, better yet, you could have the car 'pick up' dinner for you before coming to pick you up (just send it to your local restaurant and have them place it in the compartment reserved for you).
The possibilities are intriguing, that's for sure...