Driverless cars could change everything

[DenverChief]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Just a thought, but you might want to read the article in the post just above yours.
I probably should have started a new thread but this one had popped up in my search.

I was just saying I'm tired of the airlines bullying people around...the whole "hidden city" ticketing thing has me annoyed as hell - I don't do it but why shouldn't people be allowed to do it?

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by DenverChief

I was just saying I'm tired of the airlines bullying people around...the whole "hidden city" ticketing thing has me annoyed as hell - I don't do it but why shouldn't people be allowed to do it?

I see, and understand. I pretty much quit flying years ago due to lack of control. They treat you like a herd of cattle and it is understandable.

We did recently fly to the east coast and the cashless airports were just another reason not to do it for me, damn I was pissed.

I have been driving long distance for years, but now my daily limit has gone down to 600 miles. Our family is spread out all over the country, so I get a lot of practice.

[DrunkBassGuitar]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Just thinking through it, these things WILL get figured out in the next couple decades. It could happen very quickly, or it may take a while, but it'll get done. The technology is already too close to a reality for it not to happen.

So given that, the implications are incredible to think about. Off the top of my head (and summarizing some from the article and elsewhere), here are a few. These are all, of course, purely theoretical depending on how things work out.

• Cars could take kids to and from school on their own, freeing up parents.
• People who are visually impaired would have a way to get around much more.efficiently, potentially increasing the portion of blind people who can reasonably work.
• Traffic congestion could be reduced dramatically, as human reactions are the cause of a huge amount of it currently.
• Drunk driving could be reduced dramatically.
• Car sharing could become the norm since you could potentially have a huge fleet of cars-on-demand to show up when you need them.
• The elderly could stay mobile much further in their lives, improving longevity and quality of life dramatically.

It's fascinating to consider all the possibilities. If it works perfectly, I think it could be as big of a cultural revolution as the internet.

yeah but like a bus or a train can already do all of those things

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Just thinking through it, these things WILL get figured out in the next couple decades. It could happen very quickly, or it may take a while, but it'll get done. The technology is already too close to a reality for it not to happen.

So given that, the implications are incredible to think about. Off the top of my head (and summarizing some from the article and elsewhere), here are a few. These are all, of course, purely theoretical depending on how things work out.

• Cars could take kids to and from school on their own, freeing up parents.
• People who are visually impaired would have a way to get around much more.efficiently, potentially increasing the portion of blind people who can reasonably work.
• Traffic congestion could be reduced dramatically, as human reactions are the cause of a huge amount of it currently.
• Drunk driving could be reduced dramatically.
• Car sharing could become the norm since you could potentially have a huge fleet of cars-on-demand to show up when you need them.
• The elderly could stay mobile much further in their lives, improving longevity and quality of life dramatically.

It's fascinating to consider all the possibilities. If it works perfectly, I think it could be as big of a cultural revolution as the internet.

Excellent point.

Originally Posted by DrunkBassGuitar

yeah but like a bus or a train can already do all of those things

Excellent point.


I think the key is to get irrational humans to drive less, regardless of how that happens.

Originally Posted by BWillie

Why would you WANT to drive in the first place...if you didnt have to. I don't know about you but I HATE driving.

When I go on a long trip and I use auto pilot which still isn't even close to driverless driving....but I feel 1000% less fatigued when I get home.

Excellent point.

Some people enjoy driving, and that's great. I figure there'll always be niches where a human driver is needed.

But I'm right there with you on not enjoying driving. It's a big waste of time. There are times when I'm out in some huge rural area where it's kind of peaceful, but most of my driving is not out in a rural utopia. And while the scenery can be nice, I'd rather see the scenery from a train where I'm not needing to watch the road.

If you think about the number of hours Americans spend driving every year, how many great novels are going unwritten? How many kids' treehouses are going unbuilt? How many lonely housewives are being left unsatisfied? There are a million better ways that that billion hours could be used.

[a pp roach]

Just make sure they have bumpers on them..like the bowling alley. Those kind of bumpers. But it sounds like a good idea as long as they're eco friendly.

[ptlyon]

I COUND DO ANYTHING, ANYTHING FOR YOU

[DaFace]

On the "not so happy" side, this would cause a ton of industries to be completely and totally screwed. Truck drivers immediately come to mind.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by DaFace

On the "not so happy" side, this would cause a ton of industries to be completely and totally screwed. Truck drivers immediately come to mind.

**** them.

[-King-]

I've always thought the cars in iRobot are a pretty good idea of what we'll see in the future. Other than the manual override mode though. No way any they would let you override a car when it's going 100-200 MPH which is what I think the speeds would be like on highways. Maybe on side roads and normal streets, but never on highways IMO.

[cdcox]

On the downside, cats won't get to live out their dreams:

[TLO]

They'll have to pry the keys to my Trans Am/Camaro out of my cold dead hands!/ CP

[threebag]

Originally Posted by TLO

They'll have to pry the keys to my Trans Am/Camaro out of my cold dead hands!/ CP

I have both, 78 TA and an 88 IROC Z

*No mullet

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Where we're going, we may not need roads after all.

[Buehler445]

The tech is there. Has been for awhile.

The big thing in tractors is that the lawyers won't let a machine run unattended.

I assume that's the way it is with cars also. There's no one to sue if the car crashes itself.