patrick.net

BoomAndBustCycle says

Eventually speed limits would be raised because human error would not exist.. and cars could cruise at 80-100mph on the freeway and compensate for weather conditions.. further speeding up commute times.

I don't know about this. At this point is everyone on autopilot with nobody even allowed to override ? You can still have a tire blowout, or something falls of of a truck or many other possible ways that accidents occur.

I wonder if things even ever get to where all cars must be in autopilot mode. Before it gets to that point, it seems like people owning their own cars becomes an outmoded concept, at least for city dwellers. A complex public trans system would make more sense, with taxis or private vehicles as an option, just for those whose needs don't fit the public trans. system that's far better than what most cities have now.

Actually, living in New York or Chicago without a car now, is not bad, and a lot of people go that route.

BoomAndBustCycle says

There's all kinds of other productivity benefits to self-driving car boom... Being able to start your job on the commute to work.. and thus cutdown on your workday hours would be a strong possibility for cubicle jobs

only idiots would think so.. so if not driving then what are you doing !

whats the point if you cant enjoy the joy of driving...

Joy if driving?!? Whatever... How about reading a book, doing work on your laptop ect... Go off-roading or hit up a nascar track if you enjoy driving so much.

marcus says

Before it gets to that point, it seems like people owning their own cars becomes an outmoded concept, at least for city dwellers. A complex public trans system would make more sense, with taxis or private vehicles as an option

What's weird about all these discussions of the future of transportation is that one assumption which is the last to be questioned: will we drive cars?

Seems to me that a society with the technology to automate driving could also produce a transit system for everyday commuting that did not require the typical commuter to bring 3700 lbs. of steel, glass, rubber, plastic, and petroleum to work every morning. Just today I took around 4000 lbs. to and from work: from the standpoint of basic efficiency this is the easiest target if you're looking at reducing the cost of commuting.

Now some solutions to this might involve being on a conveyance with black people, or even just other people (yech!), which mean they'll never happen. But there are quite a few ways forward from here which leave the car as a leisure/hobby possession, and not a central must-have possession.

But for now, it's back to the usual discussion: "What kind of car will we drive in the future?"

As Henry Ford said, "If I'd asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'faster horses.'"

BoomAndBustCycle says

Joy if driving?!? Whatever... How about reading a book, doing work on your laptop ect... Go off-roading or hit up a nascar track if you enjoy driving so much

clearly you are not enjoying the everyday sights and sounds of nature.

your missing out on life itself.

What happens when (not if) the OS locks up (because it's Windows) and you've got the seat all the way back, snoozing away?

b_ellefson says

What happens when (not if) the OS locks up (because it's Windows) and you've got the seat all the way back, snoozing away?

or hacked

A few points about autonomous vehicles:
1. Greater road utilization because you can reduce the distance between vehicles and even have platooning for groups moving long distances; we do not really have room for more roads in many urban areas,
2. Vehicle ownership costs may be reduced. Uninsured and underinsured drivers, unregistered vehicles, unlicensed drivers may disappear. They could use a per use vehicle instead of owning a hazard. Recently while stopped waiting on a red light on Highway 12, I and another car behind me were totaled by a third driver who hit the car behind me, pushing it off to the side and continued to slam into me, pushing me into the car in front of me. The at-fault party went around telling everyone she was fully insured. Needless to say this irresponsible at-fault party had the minimum $35K in California- not nearly enough to cover the two vehicles she destroyed, the third one she damaged in front of me, let alone her own new Nissan Titan. Probably she was texting; she also made a display of needing to borrow a cell phone because she did not have one. Well, I do not expect humans to evolve into more responsible better drivers before automated cars do. Computing power continues to grow exponentially, human intellect does not.
3. Sadly this means more government control with the good and bad. Crime is harder to get away with unless you walk to the spot, cruising with the homies looking for trouble may reduce. A getaway will not be possible and car chases relegated to Hollywood movies.
4. ‘You can still have a tire blowout, or something falls off of a truck or many other possible ways that accidents occur.’ Cars can have sensors to detect these occurrences.
5. The elderly 9me soon enough can retain more independence.
6. Road rage, at the automated car?
7. HydroCabron is Kochel 271. I agree, although automated cars may be smaller and one or two-seaters. My car pool may be an automated car I share and that comes to our doors to pick us up. Less car pool politics! I understand your comment; however, when I was young and used the bus system in Seattle I always made sure to have my Walkman for all but the shortest trips. It was a defense against the crazies sitting next to you, the sexual come-ons, the soap box preachers and politicians yammering to a captive audience, and the occasional really really creepy person describing some fantasy or offence to their person. I think now that I have the minimal affluence to avoid that I will. It may be that I opt for a one person vehicle and avoid even dealing with one other person. I am an introvert, not that I am afraid of people or awkward, I just find most of the boring.
8. Of course this also means trucking is dead and I am not sure what it means for rail.
9. Enjoying the everyday sights and sounds of nature, is much easier when I need not remain constantly vigilant against some one cutting me off or the other combat maneuvers on California I-80.

georgeliberte says

A few points about autonomous vehicles:

dont you think we would already have smart vehicles

just for the case of theft and car jacking we certainly dont see
vehicles with kill switches ... certainly would stop all high speed
speeding/pursuits you have seen.

how about a car reports to the police if driver is speeding

Could the cars be programmed to driven off a huge cliff if they confirm that only realtors are inside?

Sorry to reply so late thomaswong.1986, I lost the thread. But good points.
Maybe not vehicles with kill switches, but onStar, etc can send stolen vehicle info to the police now. Part of the reason we do not have Smart cars (but look how many people have Smart phones) is the technology is slowly working its way into vehicles. Give it time. During grad school I worked at Safeway and was working the gas station one day when the lady paying said, "Oh my god!, My car was just stolen!" It was an Escalade Turned out I could not call out of the store (smart one Safeway) for the police, but she used her cell phone and also called onStar. Within minutes the young homies were pulled over and arrested.
As I said, 'Sadly this means more government control' and we already have the technology for "car reports to the police if driver is speeding". Of course, then it would be the car, and not the driver speeding. Probably the police would demand speed limits be programmed in. I do drive over the limit, but, nothing like some drivers on I-80 weaving in and out of traffic at 100. Also, why would we need BACs at all. My computer won't be 'impaired'. We will experience some loss of freedom (as if we don't already), but be freed from commuting grind.
Lastly, my family needs three cars right now because of our work schedules. It would make more sense to subscribe to a per use vehicle program for some or even all my automotive needs. Mostly my cars sit in the garage or drive way 22 hours per day, and I pay for all 24 hours. I would not longer need a garage or driveway, or have to get maintenance on my time, etc. My son would miss working on his car and strutting it off to available females in a modern version of searching for breeding partners. Anyway, most 20 somethings display prowess with their Smart phones, etc.

Too late for Bruce Jenner.