Driverless cars in the UK
Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28551069
So the government is going to allow driverless cars to be used on UK roads. The technology has already been tested in California, and is now making its way over here.
Part of me wonders what the UK publics reaction will be. I can imagine 'cash for crash' scam artists trying to trip them up, or chavs running in to the road and throwing themselves in front of the cars so they can sue Google for millions.
It will be interesting to see how it will cope with the UK's tight streets, pot-holes, speed-bumps and roadworks. I'm guessing they will only be driven on main roads to start with. I'd love to see it drive round my estate and come up against a bin lorry, where the only option is to reverse around the corner with another 5 cars behind it.
So the government is going to allow driverless cars to be used on UK roads. The technology has already been tested in California, and is now making its way over here.
Part of me wonders what the UK publics reaction will be. I can imagine 'cash for crash' scam artists trying to trip them up, or chavs running in to the road and throwing themselves in front of the cars so they can sue Google for millions.
It will be interesting to see how it will cope with the UK's tight streets, pot-holes, speed-bumps and roadworks. I'm guessing they will only be driven on main roads to start with. I'd love to see it drive round my estate and come up against a bin lorry, where the only option is to reverse around the corner with another 5 cars behind it.
kambites said:
SarGara said:
Completely different road layout though, for starters we have roundabouts not nice easy to navigate grids. It will be interesting to see how they adapt.
They do have roundabouts in the US too you know. Albeit not very many.
Its a great technological exercise and I think its pretty clever.
But I don't really see the point. I can't see average joe saying "Yep, I'll have one of those, it can drive me to work in the morning". Why ? its not saving any time. I bet that laws will say that the human "driver" must sit and monitor the system and be ready to jump in and take over in cases of emergency.. in which case you might as well drive anyway ?
I also don't think that joe public will warm to it as a feature of a car. Its just a continuation of the needlessly overcomplicated cars that manufacturers are pushing on us nowadays.
But I don't really see the point. I can't see average joe saying "Yep, I'll have one of those, it can drive me to work in the morning". Why ? its not saving any time. I bet that laws will say that the human "driver" must sit and monitor the system and be ready to jump in and take over in cases of emergency.. in which case you might as well drive anyway ?
I also don't think that joe public will warm to it as a feature of a car. Its just a continuation of the needlessly overcomplicated cars that manufacturers are pushing on us nowadays.
I'm not too fussed by this in itself, if they can get the technology to work safely and have a structure in place to deal with the legal consequences, then frankly I'd rather have computers controlling cars than people who see driving as a hassle/difficult/distraction from texting/applying makeup/playing Angry Birds/etc. I'm sure if the technology is thoroughly tested and applied properly in the UK, and affordable enough to become common, then overall it will make roads safer - not to mention the potential for cutting down on drink/drug-driving.
On the other hand, the flip side is whether in due course the technology is used as an excuse to ban (or effectively ban by making it unaffordable through tax or insurance) driving your own car.
On the other hand, the flip side is whether in due course the technology is used as an excuse to ban (or effectively ban by making it unaffordable through tax or insurance) driving your own car.
kambites said:
Most of the prototypes I've seen the human occupant cannot take over - there's no controls.
That's certainly true of the Google concept. The only control is a big red STOP button. I can certainly see a market for it, as plenty of people don't like driving. As long as these things don't become compulsory i'll be happy.kambites said:
Most of the prototypes I've seen the human occupant cannot take over - there's no controls.
Personally I like the idea of being able to "drink and drive" safely and of being able to work on the way to work.
In that case joe public are even less likely to accept it imho and I'd be amazed if such a car comes to mass production with no overrides.Personally I like the idea of being able to "drink and drive" safely and of being able to work on the way to work.
Crafty_ said:
In that case joe public are even less likely to accept it imho and I'd be amazed if such a car comes to mass production with no overrides.
They're going into (very limited) production for the US market later this year, I believe. I think mass production will come quite quickly because it will mean people don't need to learn to drive.Rick Cutler said:
I personally don't like this idea, Give it 10 years and we won't be able to drive our own cars any-more, Slowly there will be driver-less cars only permitted on the roads Monday to Friday, then Sunday will be added, eventually the joy of driving will be all gone.
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