Could you ever really relax in a self-driving car?

Simon

I love science and technology and we are living in a golden age right now. The world has changed in so many incredible ways just in the time I've been alive.

My first car was a Vauxhall Viva. It was brilliant because it was my first car and represented freedom. But of course it was basic.The clutch broke one day on the way to work so I left it at the side of the road, went and bought parts at lunch time, fixed it after work and drove it home. I doubt I could even hope to do that now. Heck, it's a challenge to even change a bulb (for cars that still have them).

For the last few years cars have been acquiring more and more driver aids. First there was ABS and traction control but now cars can warn you if something is in the next lane, if you are leaving your lane and not only drive with stop-start traffic thanks to adaptive cruise control but also emergency stop for you to prevent an accident.

Self driving cars is of course the next natural progression and on the one hand, I think it will be awesome. A computer should be able to driver better than many of the numpties we have to share the road with ... or will they take advantage of auto-raking cars to cut in front of people and drive even more recklessly.

Then there is the reality check. GM is guilty of covering up cars where they couldn't even keep the ignition key in and the basic safety features turned on. We also have airbags that blow your head off even if you don't crash.

So, do you trust the technology? Could you sit in a vehicle and let it drive you round, possibly bumper to bumper in a train with other vehicles? We already trust our lives when we drive - is it that much of a stretch to trust things a bit more?

I think I trust science and technology to a certain point but I'm not sure I trust car manufacturers and dealerships that much.

Our kids are learning to drive. I wonder how many more generations will do the same?

LisaRose

Sure, it can't be any worse than my husband's driving.

Village Idiot

No, I don't trust that technology at all. Especially the feature where your brakes are automatically activated because the car's radar shows your car is getting too close too fast to the car in front of you. What if a large plastic bag is blowing in the wind in front of you and activates that feature?

truthseeker100

What if a large plastic bag is blowing in the wind in front of you and activates that feature?

Well I guess you would brake and the bag would blow by.

Village Idiot

truthseeker,

What if a large plastic bag is blowing in the wind in front of you and activates that feature?

"Well I guess you would brake and the bag would blow by."

A plastic bag could easily hit the front of your car below the hood and stay there until you're parked. Such involuntary application of the brakes could cause an accident if there is a car behind you going at high speed.

James Mixon

One of my brothers waited years before he purchased a Microwave,

he was waiting to see the reports on deaths of microwave users.

truthseeker100

It's best to leave it alone until you are parked. Also if you have a car behind you at fast speeds it could cause an accident.

I agree there are a lot of things to be worked out. If the car behind you could could communicate with your car there would be no danger. Where the real challenges lay in this technology is in law. Who do you sue if an accident is deemed caused by faulty software. What if the company that created the software no longer exists. Then send in the insurance companies for a feeding frenzy and the list goes on.

LisaRose

Such involuntary application of the brakes could cause an accident if there is a car behind you going at high speed.

This could just as easily happen with human drivers. You should never be following so close behind another driver that you can't stop if they should apply the breaks suddenly.

So far in testing of self driving cars, there have been eleven accidents in 1.7 million miles, none due to the fault of the self driving cars. I like those odds.

JeffT

Put it this way: do you trust the people that gave us Windows 8 to design computer software that will drive a car?

Simon

It's a different type of software to normal desktop apps. It's more like aerospace level development and verification that will be required.

One of the scary things is security - the potential for people to mess with the system to game it or to deliberately cause damage.

In normal operation the plastic bag shouldn't be an issue - the software should be clever enough to recognize things and even if it isn't, it should coordinate breaking with the vehicles behind. It takes away the reaction delay or possible distracted driver which has to be good.

There are already self-driving vehicles on highways besides the Google mapping cars - they actually have large trucks running driverless!

Could you ever really relax in a self-driving car?

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