Driverless cars could change everything

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

That's pretty cool, thanks for the video.

Did you experience any anxiety sitting in the back like that with no control? I think I would for a bit.

The biggest issue was just that it kind of got stuck in the valet parking, and it was definitely a little awkward having the valet guy looking at us because we were in his way while we couldn't do anything about it. They have a help button that you can call, and a rep can take over remotely, but the car got it figured out after a minute or two.

Once it was on the road, it was a pretty normal ride. Definitely no safety-related anxiety.

[HemiEd]

Driverless cars covered 5x more test miles in California in 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 2 story has been corrected to remove the word ‘Chinese’ from paragraph 9)
Completely driverless vehicles traveled nearly 3.3 million miles in California last year, over five times the previous year's total, even as concerns rose in the wake of a Cruise robotaxi accident, state data on vehicle testing released on Friday showed.
General Motors' (GM.N), opens new tab Cruise and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo accounted for the bulk of the miles - 63% and 36% respectively - recorded without a safety driver, according to the state's department of motor vehicles (DMV).

Taxis with empty driver's seats have become common in the San Francisco area. The Cruise accident, in which an autonomous vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet (6.1 meters), sparked a public outcry and prompted the company to halt operations across the country.
Autonomous tests with a safety driver rose to 5.7 million miles from 5.1 million, DMV data from Dec. 1, 2022 to Nov. 30, 2023 showed.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ent=newsletter

[Kiimo]

Let's be honest the driving age at 14 is an absolute joke it should probably be 18 at the youngest and probably more like 21


they never should have given me a license at 15 I was a danger to everyone around me

[R Clark]

Originally Posted by Kiimo

Let's be honest the driving age at 14 is an absolute joke it should probably be 18 at the youngest and probably more like 21


they never should have given me a license at 15 I was a danger to everyone around me

Speak for yourself, we weren’t all no driving dipshits like you. I grew up in the country where we had to drive at 14 yrs old

[HemiEd]

Just have to share: After spending a few days this last week with my PHd, 50 year old, Scientist daughter, she told me she hopes to able to purchase a self driving car for her next vehicle. Change is going to happen whether I like it or not.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Just have to share: After spending a few days this last week with my PHd, 50 year old, Scientist daughter, she told me she hopes to able to purchase a self driving car for her next vehicle. Change is going to happen whether I like it or not.

At this point, I don't really even think that's a straightforward statement. We've learned in the past 10 years or so that "self-driving" is a spectrum, not a definition. I would imagine that a majority of mid-tier or higher cars sold today have at least adaptive cruise control and/or lane control. That's all my 2021 Rav4 Prime has, but it certainly can drive itself on the highway if the rules are "stay in lane and don't hit the car in front of you."

Teslas add a few additional steps to that - more advanced versions of the above, change lanes with just the push of the turn signal, stopping at stop lights/signs, etc.

Beyond that, there really aren't any options that are truly ready for prime time, and it seems like the growth curve has been flattening out in terms of tangible progress. Everything that's out there is really only able to adapt to a specific geographic area, and the ones that can do more than that (Tesla's FSD) still can't handle a lot of fringe scenarios (weird road construction markings, for example).

I do think things will get there, but it's going to take longer than everyone was thinking a few years ago. So for the forseeable future, the question is going to be what self-driving features a car has rather than whether it is "self-driving."

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Kiimo

Let's be honest the driving age at 14 is an absolute joke it should probably be 18 at the youngest and probably more like 21


they never should have given me a license at 15 I was a danger to everyone around me

I started driving at 8. My parents made me drive all the way across the state and into KC at 14. I was good to go.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by DaFace

At this point, I don't really even think that's a straightforward statement. We've learned in the past 10 years or so that "self-driving" is a spectrum, not a definition. I would imagine that a majority of mid-tier or higher cars sold today have at least adaptive cruise control and/or lane control. That's all my 2021 Rav4 Prime has, but it certainly can drive itself on the highway if the rules are "stay in lane and don't hit the car in front of you."

Teslas add a few additional steps to that - more advanced versions of the above, change lanes with just the push of the turn signal, stopping at stop lights/signs, etc.

Beyond that, there really aren't any options that are truly ready for prime time, and it seems like the growth curve has been flattening out in terms of tangible progress. Everything that's out there is really only able to adapt to a specific geographic area, and the ones that can do more than that (Tesla's FSD) still can't handle a lot of fringe scenarios (weird road construction markings, for example).

I do think things will get there, but it's going to take longer than everyone was thinking a few years ago. So for the forseeable future, the question is going to be what self-driving features a car has rather than whether it is "self-driving."

You make good points.

I was talking to my SIL on this visit and he said he had rented a rental car on their vacation that would over ride his steering some on the lane control when passing an eighteen wheeler. Is that the "adaptive cruise control" you referenced?

Also, another feature some of these new vehicles have that I have noticed on rental cars, the motor will shut off when at a stop light/sign. That can not be good for the engine long term but I bet it really helps in those big traffic jams in metropolitan areas.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

You make good points.

I was talking to my SIL on this visit and he said he had rented a rental car on their vacation that would over ride his steering some on the lane control when passing an eighteen wheeler. Is that the "adaptive cruise control" you referenced?

Also, another feature some of these new vehicles have that I have noticed on rental cars, the motor will shut off when at a stop light/sign. That can not be good for the engine long term but I bet it really helps in those big traffic jams in metropolitan areas.

I can set my cruise control to automatically slow down within 1-3 car lengths of a vehicle in front of me... so if I have cruise set to 70, it'll brake as it approaches a slower vehicle and then automatically speed up when you change lanes.

You can also set it to automatically change lanes whenever you turn on the blinker, and also set it so it'll stay within the lanes (it also complains if you take your hands off the wheel).

There's been a time or two where it'll override steering a bit, so I don't use it much... and once where it slammed the brakes on the highway thinking I was about to hit something, but nothing was in my lane at all (and fortunately no one behind me).

The last car I owned had the auto stop/start thing, but only for eco mode.. my current one does it all the time and don't think there's a way to disable it..... if you slow down just right though, it won't turn off. It's impressively seamless though when it does start up, even though I also wonder about long term effects.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

I can set my cruise control to automatically slow down within 1-3 car lengths of a vehicle in front of me... so if I have cruise set to 70, it'll brake as it approaches a slower vehicle and then automatically speed up when you change lanes.

You can also set it to automatically change lanes whenever you turn on the blinker, and also set it so it'll stay within the lanes (it also complains if you take your hands off the wheel).

There's been a time or two where it'll override steering a bit, so I don't use it much... and once where it slammed the brakes on the highway thinking I was about to hit something, but nothing was in my lane at all (and fortunately no one behind me).

The last car I owned had the auto stop/start thing, but only for eco mode.. my current one does it all the time and don't think there's a way to disable it..... if you slow down just right though, it won't turn off. It's impressively seamless though when it does start up, even though I also wonder about long term effects.

Adaptive cruise control + lane assistance = game changer if you're in heavy traffic

As for the engine shut off thing, that's becoming pretty common as a fuel efficiency improvement measure. They don't us a normal starter, so the typical logic on wear and tear doesn't really apply.

[BEAVER]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

I can set my cruise control to automatically slow down within 1-3 car lengths of a vehicle in front of me... so if I have cruise set to 70, it'll brake as it approaches a slower vehicle and then automatically speed up when you change lanes.

You can also set it to automatically change lanes whenever you turn on the blinker, and also set it so it'll stay within the lanes (it also complains if you take your hands off the wheel).

There's been a time or two where it'll override steering a bit, so I don't use it much... and once where it slammed the brakes on the highway thinking I was about to hit something, but nothing was in my lane at all (and fortunately no one behind me).

The last car I owned had the auto stop/start thing, but only for eco mode.. my current one does it all the time and don't think there's a way to disable it..... if you slow down just right though, it won't turn off. It's impressively seamless though when it does start up, even though I also wonder about long term effects.

My Pickup (2020 GMC) has all that stuff. Collision avoidance - adaptive whatever - lane assist - I turned it all off except the HUD alert for collision. I just can't deal with my steering wheel doing anything without my input.

The seat will also vibrate if you look to be running into something - I had turn that off because my girlfriend kept trying to run into things.

[Strongside]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

You make good points.

I was talking to my SIL on this visit and he said he had rented a rental car on their vacation that would over ride his steering some on the lane control when passing an eighteen wheeler. Is that the "adaptive cruise control" you referenced?

Also, another feature some of these new vehicles have that I have noticed on rental cars, the motor will shut off when at a stop light/sign. That can not be good for the engine long term but I bet it really helps in those big traffic jams in metropolitan areas.

My F150 starts and stops the engine at stop lights.

120k miles and never an issue.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

I can set my cruise control to automatically slow down within 1-3 car lengths of a vehicle in front of me... so if I have cruise set to 70, it'll brake as it approaches a slower vehicle and then automatically speed up when you change lanes.

You can also set it to automatically change lanes whenever you turn on the blinker, and also set it so it'll stay within the lanes (it also complains if you take your hands off the wheel).

There's been a time or two where it'll override steering a bit, so I don't use it much... and once where it slammed the brakes on the highway thinking I was about to hit something, but nothing was in my lane at all (and fortunately no one behind me).

The last car I owned had the auto stop/start thing, but only for eco mode.. my current one does it all the time and don't think there's a way to disable it..... if you slow down just right though, it won't turn off. It's impressively seamless though when it does start up, even though I also wonder about long term effects.

Wow, this stuff is a lot farther along than I thought. I am surprised by most of this.

Originally Posted by Strongside

My F150 starts and stops the engine at stop lights.

120k miles and never an issue.

That is pretty good for a Ford.

All kidding aside, on startups, the engine oil has to get picked up and circulated by the oil pump, thus the most critical wear time on an engine.

I will not be owning a car/truck that does this, but fortunately I put myself in a position not to have to.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

You make good points.

I was talking to my SIL on this visit and he said he had rented a rental car on their vacation that would over ride his steering some on the lane control when passing an eighteen wheeler. Is that the "adaptive cruise control" you referenced?

Also, another feature some of these new vehicles have that I have noticed on rental cars, the motor will shut off when at a stop light/sign. That can not be good for the engine long term but I bet it really helps in those big traffic jams in metropolitan areas.

My understanding, most of the damage is from starting a cold engine. If the engine is still hot and the oil is still spread around, it isn't an issue.