Self-Driving Vehicles
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,031
Likes: 97
From: Southeastern PA
I thought after the Toyota "unintended acceleration" fiasco that the buttons were reprogrammed so that you could hold them down for 3 seconds and shut off the engine.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,334
Likes: 237
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Could be......I'm not sure about that. If one loses power brakes/steering, though, when that happens, for people with weak arms and legs, that could (?) be almost as risky as the unintended acceleration itself.
Pole Position
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,598
Likes: 300
From: Missouri
I don't think you can use that button to stop the engine, for a number of reasons, if the car is in gear and in motion. For one thing, you would lose the power assist on the brakes after the small vacuum-reserve for the booster is used up...and maybe the power steering as well.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,334
Likes: 237
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Yes, and, taking the thread-topic into account, we're talking not only just about steering and brakes, but about ALL of the systems on a car being exposed to hacking.
Autonomous driving is never going to be a reality, not in the real world. I'd like to see how an autonomous car copes with congested city with pedestrians and bicyclers having complete disregard for traffic rules and traffic signals, not to mention weather conditions, road constructions and other potential obstacles. You just need human instincts to keep traffic flowing in these conditions.
Pole Position
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,598
Likes: 300
From: Missouri
You raise excellent points. I don't know much about the Google car but it has driven over a million miles I think with very few mishaps. I am sure they are testing (or will be testing) these vehicles in real-world conditions including weather, pedestrians, bicycles, traffic lights, and people who run them, etc. Sure, it's hard to imagine how an autonomous vehicle can handle these situations, for example, heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic in a big city. Maybe they will never be able to, but then again I think a lot of adults, let alone 16 year olds, who drive only in suburban traffic will have a hard time driving in peak downtown traffic conditions.
And if autonomous traffic does become more prevalent, a large fraction of vehicles will be able to communicate with each other and with sensors embedded into streets and highways that things might actually get safer.
And if autonomous traffic does become more prevalent, a large fraction of vehicles will be able to communicate with each other and with sensors embedded into streets and highways that things might actually get safer.
Autonomous driving is never going to be a reality, not in the real world. I'd like to see how an autonomous car copes with congested city with pedestrians and bicyclers having complete disregard for traffic rules and traffic signals, not to mention weather conditions, road constructions and other potential obstacles. You just need human instincts to keep traffic flowing in these conditions.
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Autonomous driving is never going to be a reality, not in the real world. I'd like to see how an autonomous car copes with congested city with pedestrians and bicyclers having complete disregard for traffic rules and traffic signals, not to mention weather conditions, road constructions and other potential obstacles. You just need human instincts to keep traffic flowing in these conditions.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,486
Likes: 3,998
From: Maryland
Autonomous driving is never going to be a reality, not in the real world. I'd like to see how an autonomous car copes with congested city with pedestrians and bicyclers having complete disregard for traffic rules and traffic signals, not to mention weather conditions, road constructions and other potential obstacles. You just need human instincts to keep traffic flowing in these conditions.
I think by the time my kids are 16 (they turn 2 next month) we will have autonomous driving, but every car won't be autonomous, and it will mostly be highways, etc.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,334
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
There are an awful lot of potential roadblocks out there. It may eventually come, but I don't see it anytime soon. It took basically an entire century (1900-2000) to perfect the modern automobile as we know it....with human drivers. And autonomous driving is basically like starting over again. And the liability issues are going to be enormous....even many lawyers, who make their living from liability issues, probably won't want to get involved in it.
Lead Lap
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,664
Likes: 18
From: TX
Judging by personal experience, most 16 year-olds today don't know how to drive a car. They just get by while texting or checking Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I don't have kids, so I don't know if there are even driving schools any longer. We had one at my high school (decades ago) that was really beneficial in teaching me how to drive. The challenge is that no lessons could have ever prepared with today's distracted drivers.
Back on topic, I'm not even sure kids 16 years from now will be interested in driving. They wait now to get their driver's licenses because their world is in their smartphones. I heard an expert talking about what a "connected but isolated" world we live in. Maybe we need much better public transportation to keep some of the cars off the street, or if Uber is still around kids 16 years from now may just choose to be chauffered and not own a car at all.
Back on topic, I'm not even sure kids 16 years from now will be interested in driving. They wait now to get their driver's licenses because their world is in their smartphones. I heard an expert talking about what a "connected but isolated" world we live in. Maybe we need much better public transportation to keep some of the cars off the street, or if Uber is still around kids 16 years from now may just choose to be chauffered and not own a car at all.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,486
Likes: 3,998
From: Maryland
Originally Posted by mmarshall
I Dunno, Steve. There are an awful lot of potential roadblocks out there. It may eventually come, but I don't see it anytime soon. It took basically an entire century (1900-2000) to perfect the modern automobile as we know it....with human drivers. And autonomous driving is basically like starting over again. And the liability issues are going to be enormous....even many lawyers, who make their living from liability issues, probably won't want to get involved in it.
There are an awful lot of potential roadblocks out there. It may eventually come, but I don't see it anytime soon. It took basically an entire century (1900-2000) to perfect the modern automobile as we know it....with human drivers. And autonomous driving is basically like starting over again. And the liability issues are going to be enormous....even many lawyers, who make their living from liability issues, probably won't want to get involved in it.
Correct a good example is comparing the first intel chip to the latest and how much faster the newer ones developed.
Computer in an autonomous driving car will always make safety its first priority, which means that the car will basically never move in a city's gridlock traffic. We even have many intersections that are no longer even regulated by traffic signals, but rather there are traffic controllers waving their wands, and you better react fast. Maybe autonomous cars could work in Wiscohiobrascas, but not in a real city.