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In reply to the discussion: Please help me understand something about self-driving cars [View all]forgotmylogin
(7,966 posts)60. I think the real appeal to some people...
is the idea that you could tell the car to drive you to work, and then read a book or play with your phone as a passenger.
Companies such as Uber or truck companies could basically hire people minimally trained to "supervise" the vehicle along its route instead of being trained to drive it.
The problem is just what we've already experienced - someone dressed in black and crossing the road illegally in a dark and unexpected location is not detected by the car sensors, and the "driver" isn't paying attention to override the computer. I think under normal driving conditions, if a driver had seen someone crossing the road ahead, they would have slowed down temporarily to make sure the cyclist made it across and not even needed to stop.
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I was lucky. My mother made one serious driving mistake, sometime in her mid seventies,
pnwmom
Mar 2018
#15
One issue that older people have is they think they need a car to get to doctor's appointments.
pnwmom
Mar 2018
#25
You're right, of course. Self-driving cars will be especially important in rural areas
pnwmom
Mar 2018
#29
Well, in theory if people stop buying and owning cars in large numbers and are told 'you WILL share
mr_lebowski
Mar 2018
#56
I don't see why we use computers to communicate when we have perfectly good postal workers
mahatmakanejeeves
Mar 2018
#17
When is the last time someone died because their computer crashed into another
Ferrets are Cool
Mar 2018
#62
Self-driving cars are needed to fire hundreds of thousands of professional drivers.
Doodley
Mar 2018
#21
Tell us the last time you demanded to have a operator place your phone call...
brooklynite
Mar 2018
#23
So many benefits eventually. Cars that talk to each other, space themselves out evenly.
lostnfound
Mar 2018
#44
They could be of vital importance for people with disabilities that prevent them from driving
LeftishBrit
Mar 2018
#38
most normal average Americans will grow older, lose their ability to see well enough to drive,
DrDan
Mar 2018
#41
"If I had asked the people what they wanted, they would have told me faster horses."
EffieBlack
Mar 2018
#42