On 1/21/2016 1:46 PM, nospam wrote:
In article
, Muggles
wrote:

People are going to do stupid things when they drive, and get distracted
by something eventually. I don't know if the solutions is to totally
ban the usage of any phone while driving regardless of the technology,
or adapt to the technology as it makes cars safer to drive.


the solution are autonomous vehicles, at which point people can do
whatever the hell they want while the car does the driving, and far
safer than any human can do.

While autonomous vehicles may be practical in the future, it'll be quite
a few years before that technology is advanced enough for practical
implementation. Maybe it'll be something we can actually practically
use within the next 20 or 30 years.


it's *already* starting to appear in limited forms and within 5-10
years, autonomous vehicles will be more than a curiosity.

I'm guessing longer than that before they are anything but in the
testing phase, but who knows.... It could happen sooner.

as i said, it's already happening.

many vehicles have adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and
blind spot assist. ford had auto-park several years ago.

last year, an autonomous mercedes drove itself to las vegas:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/60-min...des-benz-self-
driving-car/

autonomous trucks exist:
https://www.daimler.com/innovation/a...ightliner-insp
iration-truck.html

several car makers have announced autonomous functionality as soon as
the 2017 model year.

I've seen a lot of testing going on with such things, but I still thinks
it's a decade or more away from fully autonomous cars being the norm on
the roads.

I'd also want to know how those people involved in developing the
technology have addressed the possibility of maliciously hacking
vehicles, and all the issues involved when software is in charge of
controlling a 2000 pound rolling weapon?


nothing is perfect. what matters is that the collision, injury and
fatality rate is lower than it is now, which isn't all that hard to do.

If the purpose of an autonomous car isn't to eliminate collisions and
injuries, is it going to be worth the expense just to change the stats a
little?

there are *many* advantages to autonomous vehicles, including a
*dramatic* reduction of collisions, injuries and fatalities, reducing
traffic and being able to make trips otherwise not possible.


I'm somewhat skeptical as the viability and effectiveness, at least any
time soon.

--
Maggie