What happens when their computerized controls malfunction or get hacked? I think we’ve all seen enough movies to know the outcome of that.
I will keep control, thanks. If there were only some way to eliminate the completely stupid people who are using a cell phone while driving, it would be so much better. I can’t tell you how many times someone has whizzed by me going 80 mph on the highway, no less, while texting. Or have been nearly rear-ended (one reason why I allow so much room in front of me) or sideswiped by one of these people who do not deserve the right to drive. I wish there were a way to eject them directly into a jail cell.
Put your phones away and never get them out while driving. There is nothing so important that you should put everyone at risk around you.
So far, I think human drivers are still safer than robots even with cellphones. 1,100 fatalities in auto accidents a year. Driverless had the first casualty. I am quite sure human drivers drive a lot more than 1,100 times than driverless cars and all terrains and more accident prone areas.
OK I take it back. Yes, it looks more like 40,000. I think the conclusion remains the same tho. Humans drive far more than 40,000 times than driverless. And they drive in an uncontrolled environment. Driverless will get better. As of now tho it’s not safer.
@TempeMom – human vision is far superior to the webcam-like camera in the video. Still, the object detection electronics should have seen the obstacle in the path and reacted.
This driverless car fad will die soon. Computers simply aren’t smart enough to know what to do in unexpected situations. For example, our Acura TLX has a HUD that flashes “Brake” when it detects a high enough delta in the speed of something ahead of it. That’s fine when there’s a car in your lane that’s going too slow (or you’re going to fast). Unfortunately, the software isn’t smart enough to tell the difference between a car in your lane and a car in the opposing lane when on a two lane road that curves to the right, so you get these bogus “Brake” flashes. If the TLX was totally automated, it would slam on the brakes in that situation and you’d get rearended!
@TempeMom I read in an article that she had already crossed the first lane and that they should have seen her. If it looks like she came from nowhere on the camera, I think there’s an issue with the camera.
Relying on webcam and gps seems rather cumbersome. Cars need to see where they are going like humans and make instant decisions. TrueDepth camera with huge computer capacity may do the trick.
Where was the radar?! The woman was walking her bike across the road, a large metal object. A radar may not see a human body, but it should have detected a chunk of metal easily.
Couldn’t disagree more. The driverless cars are not going anywhere. Watch for more growth in this sector. In many cases they are safer than human drivers.
i just saw the video. if i was driving the car myself, i fully believe i would have hit her. why? she wasn’t wearing reflective clothing, she was j-walking, she clearly didn’t look or else she would have seen the headlights of the car (it was dark outside), etc. i really don’t think it was the car’s fault… it looks like she came out of nowhere.
Focusing on the driver is misleading. The driver wasn’t driving the car. It was self driving and failed completely to notice the woman. It didn’t look hard to see her and pretty basic stuuf a selfless car should have managed.