[Efthreeoh]

4 Billion is a drop in the bucket of the funding it would take to convert the US highway infrastructure system from a personal operator-driving system to an autonomous driving system. To achieve theoretical safety gains by eliminating human driver error, all cars must be autonomous at all times. The transportation system can't be mixed between human driven cars and autonomous driving cars. Since the US transportation system is comprised of privately-owned vehicles driven on publically (tax payer funded) constructed infrastructure it is not possible to transform the system from human driven to fully autonomous over a period of time. Further, then there need be only one government manufacturer of automobiles since they all would need to use the same software and interface to connect with local traffic system controllers. There would be no need for performance cars as the purpose is to transport humans places they want to go. There would be no need for product differentiation. And it would be boring.

Liberals hate personally-driven transportation because it means they can't control the populace, which is really the ultimate goal. If looked at from a free-market perspective, there is no market for any company to invest in an autonomous transportation system because there is no completion in it and therefore no profit motive.

The idea is completely idiotic.

[Nitrousbird]

Originally Posted by 3798j

Let me know when he pledges money to pay down our national debt.

Exactly. This is the only thing he should be pledging.

[PoorLurker]

Another article I read stated that Google has driven over 2 million miles. The only incidences of an accident were when other vehicles have crashed into them.

I'd venture to say that Google would put in a fail safe plan B and plan C mode. Therefore, the self driving cars will be better equipped than driving than some people. Ie., the people who had their throttle stuck open or their floor mat press the accelerator and never realized they should put the car in park/neutral, push the emergency brake, and/or turn the car off

Would be interesting to see a driverless car manage icey roads.

1moremod is mad because driverless cars will end up racing him at the track. They will feel the over or understeer and react within fractions of a second. haha Hopefully they program the driverless race cars to honk at others when they pass them as they have no fingers to raise.

[1MOREMOD]

No I'm mad because I enjoy driving and it will probably mean the end of track driving not racing robo cars.

[spiceyxi]

It just doesn't seem like we need to spend this 4 billion dollars to help provide additional incentives for autonomous cars. Google has been working on this goal for awhile and has put a good amount of cash in this project. Ford has been developing this internally for a bit now. It sounds as if Tesla is working to this goal as well. Plus, I think I have read articles about Audi testing some stuff out too. I suspect all of the major car brands are starting to or have been developing and researching this technology for awhile. I just don't see the point of the government thinking they need to throw some more of our money (well, our possible future money) into subsidizing this research. They are already doing it (I would bet because of how far along Google is).

[RM7]

Originally Posted by auf Deutsch

I'd venture to say that this will diminish drunk driving/DUI incidents, which it may very well do.

Rear-endings, blowing through intersections and t-boning cars, falling asleep, etc.

Has anyone in this thread ever looked left or right at an intersection when stopped? A vast majority of people are playing with their phones. They are asking for this, not in words, but in their actions. And like I said, who here doesn't want to be able to take a car anywhere when you get older and your skills start to drop off? This is the natural progression of things, it's not to say that non-automated driving will go away for the foreseeable future, but I do see automated driving becoming practical and a common thing in the near future.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

Would be interesting to see a driverless car manage icey roads.

Audi did that autonomous hot-lap a few months back, taking the car to the limits of it's traction. There's a youtube of it and given what they achieved there, it seems like making the car able to drive on an icy road by itself wouldn't be a big deal.

[gtron]

or $4 billion on transfer portals. the roads would be left only to the enthusiasts then!

it's fun to pretend

[David70]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

4 Billion is a drop in the bucket of the funding it would take to convert the US highway infrastructure system from a personal operator-driving system to an autonomous driving system. To achieve theoretical safety gains by eliminating human driver error, all cars must be autonomous at all times. The transportation system can't be mixed between human driven cars and autonomous driving cars. Since the US transportation system is comprised of privately-owned vehicles driven on publically (tax payer funded) constructed infrastructure it is not possible to transform the system from human driven to fully autonomous over a period of time. Further, then there need be only one government manufacturer of automobiles since they all would need to use the same software and interface to connect with local traffic system controllers. There would be no need for performance cars as the purpose is to transport humans places they want to go. There would be no need for product differentiation. And it would be boring.

Liberals hate personally-driven transportation because it means they can't control the populace, which is really the ultimate goal. If looked at from a free-market perspective, there is no market for any company to invest in an autonomous transportation system because there is no completion in it and therefore no profit motive.

The idea is completely idiotic.

I don't believe the cars they are developing are dependent on either of the above. Also, each thing the car does automatically, like slamming on the brakes when an accident is about to happen and the driver doesn't see it, should reduce the accident rate. I don't see it as being needed in every vehicle, all the time.

The "idea is completely idiotic" or the liberals are behind it is really out there. Car companies and others are currently developing it based on believing there is a market for it. They have been doing it for years with no government help. I don't agree tax money should be used but many possible safety features also get government funding/grants to be studied.

Biggest problem I see is the system can't just be better than the average driver but instead has to be as good or better than the best. If someone gets in an accident and gets hurt or killed (I don't see anyone completely eliminating accidents), the liability for the company will be huge if the person hurt can prove that a good driver could have avoided it.

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Audi did that autonomous hot-lap a few months back, taking the car to the limits of it's traction. There's a youtube of it and given what they achieved there, it seems like making the car able to drive on an icy road by itself wouldn't be a big deal.

I agree. Currently, drivers figure out the road is icy/slippery based on temperature, steering, traction limits, and what they see, not some magical formula. I don't see why the right programming and sensors couldn't figure it out also.

If they can create a fully autonomous car I would expect car ownership to drop significantly. Taxi/Uber costs without the driver would go down a huge amount, the companies/people that own these vehicles could have more and ready to go (not paying a driver to sit/drive them).

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by David70

I don't believe the cars they are developing are dependent on either of the above. Also, each thing the car does automatically, like slamming on the brakes when an accident is about to happen and the driver doesn't see it, should reduce the accident rate. I don't see it as being needed in every vehicle, all the time.

The "idea is completely idiotic" or the liberals are behind it is really out there. Car companies and others are currently developing it based on believing there is a market for it. They have been doing it for years with no government help. I don't agree tax money should be used but many possible safety features also get government funding/grants to be studied.

Biggest problem I see is the system can't just be better than the average driver but instead has to be as good or better than the best. If someone gets in an accident and gets hurt or killed (I don't see anyone completely eliminating accidents), the liability for the company will be huge if the person hurt can prove that a good driver could have avoided it.



I agree. Currently, drivers figure out the road is icy/slippery based on temperature, steering, traction limits, and what they see, not some magical formula. I don't see why the right programming and sensors couldn't figure it out also.

If they can create a fully autonomous car I would expect car ownership to drop significantly. Taxi/Uber costs without the driver would go down a huge amount, the companies/people that own these vehicles could have more and ready to go (not paying a driver to sit/drive them).

I can't see how autonomous cars can exist with human-driven cars and reduce accident rates. The whole point for development of autonomous driving is human-driven cars are suspect to error prone operation (let's call it analog), whereas autonomous cars are digital and react in a pre-programmed response (even if artificial intelligence is used). The human driving environment is far too complex for digital operation of autonomous vehicles. A fully digitally controlled driving environment with 100% autonomous vehicles is absolutely possible, but getting there is not economically feasible because part of the US transportation system is privately owned (the vehicles). Everyone will have to switch to autonomous vehicles at some point, and where does that start? Conversion of a privately owned vehicle human-driven vehicle to autonomous capability is not financially possible for most owners nor economically sensible; the cost of conversion is more than the value of the vehicle.

The in between step is the brick wall here. The accident rate will increase during the conversion stage, which both the driving public and Politicians will not have the stomach for. The air traffic management system is highly automated. It has been proven that pilotless planes can take off and land safely. However, go to the airport today and tell people on a flight that the aircraft they are in is being flown without a pilot, and see how many and how fast people unboard the plane.

Some ideas are just bad ideas.