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True self-driving cars to arrive in 2019


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12 minutes ago, toast said:

Very important point. Some insurance companies already offer black boxes to be installed to cars and these boxes transmit data about the driver`s style of driving to the insurance company`s server. They collect the data for speed, acceleration, breaking, lateral acceleration and the full movement profile. In return, they offer a by 10% reduced insurance amount. As traffic jam is often caused by drivers who sneak and/or do need 5 seconds to start at a green traffic light, the street traffic would collapse if more drivers would have such a black boxe as the black box drivers would drive with an extremly care just to not feed the servers with data that might interpret the driver`s style as to be dangerous or not in compliance to the insurance company`s algorithms of passive driving.

A guy at work had to drive me home one day not long ago. A car pulls out in front of us while we were doing 55, the speed limit. He had to break hard, and quickly went on to complain they were gonna dock him cause of how he had to use the brake. I looked at him like WTH?? Is 10% really worth all that?

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What will this mean for the trucking industry, that provides a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of families? Heck probably millions of families world wide? Even if the truck still needed someone to monitor, what are they gonna get paid to sit and do next to nothing all day? What about all the jobs (like mine) that are required to make sure their truck company is moving along? Managers, dispatchers, etc etc. Are we gonna get offered a early retirement? :mellow: Not likely.

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Really thinking about it, there are many other jobs that require drivers, even for regular vehicles. I guess they join folks like myself who will be fighting for some job they aren't qualified to do, or are over qualified and will be massively under paid. If you are among the lucky few that find such a job with thousands entering the unemployment line.

 

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19 hours ago, Dark_Grey said:

...accidents are exactly why driverless cars are becoming popular. 0 accidents in over 700,000 miles of driving, Preacher. 0 accidents in 700,000 miles (2014)

2016 figures:

Find me any human driver ever that has driven 700,000 miles without any accidents.

The only accident I was ever in, in 33 years was when I was struck by a drunk driver 20 years ago. I've driven full size pickups ever since. 

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4 hours ago, Piney said:

The only accident I was ever in, in 33 years was when I was struck by a drunk driver 20 years ago. I've driven full size pickups ever since. 

I'm sure there are a bunch of people out there fortunate enough to never have an accident. However, their numbers don't even come close to driverless cars as every driverless car will be just as capable as the next one. That simply cannot be said of human beings. Take 10 random people and you'll have 10 different driving habits.

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Just now, Dark_Grey said:

I'm sure there are a bunch of people out there fortunate enough to never have an accident. However, their numbers don't even come close to driverless cars as every driverless car will be just as capable as the next one. That simply cannot be said of human beings. Take 10 random people and you'll have 10 different driving habits.

People tell me my driving habits are a "ranch boy thing". I drove the big dangerous stuff like our JD644B and our Ford 6600 before I drove a car.

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5 hours ago, preacherman76 said:

What will this mean for the trucking industry, that provides a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of families? Heck probably millions of families world wide? Even if the truck still needed someone to monitor, what are they gonna get paid to sit and do next to nothing all day? What about all the jobs (like mine) that are required to make sure their truck company is moving along? Managers, dispatchers, etc etc. Are we gonna get offered a early retirement? :mellow: Not likely.

It means you won't be able to find a job in the trucking industry. Or the taxi industry. Or limousines, valets, dump trucks....I mean take your pick but the auto industry is about to change forever. Even if the public at large wants to continue driving themselves around, the incentive for businesses to adopt driverless cars is too great. NEVER having to worry about your long-haul drivers being hungover or tired? Never having to pay benefits? All the hours saved because a computer doesn't need a pee break or a rest?

The human body is quickly becoming obsolete, my friend. We physically (and in some cases mentally,) cannot compete with this new tech. We get tired, we get distracted, we like cell phones too much and all those things are liabilities in the driving industry.

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8 minutes ago, Dark_Grey said:

It means you won't be able to find a job in the trucking industry. Or the taxi industry. Or limousines, valets, dump trucks....I mean take your pick but the auto industry is about to change forever. Even if the public at large wants to continue driving themselves around, the incentive for businesses to adopt driverless cars is too great. NEVER having to worry about your long-haul drivers being hungover or tired? Never having to pay benefits? All the hours saved because a computer doesn't need a pee break or a rest?

The human body is quickly becoming obsolete, my friend. We physically (and in some cases mentally,) cannot compete with this new tech. We get tired, we get distracted, we like cell phones too much and all those things are liabilities in the driving industry.

Yea for companies there probably is no way around it. People can stop private vehicles from switching over though. If the vast majority refuse to comply, then it just won’t happen. 

They are gonna put millions out of work though. I don’t see how that’s even close to a good thing. Regardless of whether or not it’s more safe. The economy is going to take a huge hit, and there is no where near enough jobs to make up for the loss. 

I also think the jury is still way out on the overall safety of this. Computers are not infallible. There will most certainly be issues. Maybe major issues that end up effecting every vehicle on the road at one time

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2 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

Yea for companies there probably is no way around it. People can stop private vehicles from switching over though. If the vast majority refuse to comply, then it just won’t happen. 

They are gonna put millions out of work though. I don’t see how that’s even close to a good thing. Regardless of whether or not it’s more safe. The economy is going to take a huge hit, and there is no where near enough jobs to make up for the loss. 

Now we are getting to the meat and potatoes of driverless cars: the economy. You are absolutely right in that employment will take a huge hit from this in the very near future. This is all part of the automation discussion. Politicians aren't talking about it, the media is barely covering it yet it's a giant issue that's just around the corner and it will effect all of us in some way. What's the answer? Universal basic income? This is a yuuuge topic to cover.

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I also think the jury is still way out on the overall safety of this. Computers are not infallible. There will most certainly be issues. Maybe major issues that end up effecting every vehicle on the road at one time

Just try and keep things in perspective. Computers are not perfect but they only have to be more perfect than human drivers. We currently have what - 40,000 vehicle related deaths every more? Maybe more? If computer controlled cars can bring that down to 10,000 deaths a year than driverless cars are still safer all around. I would be surprised if there even 5000 vehicle deaths/year after every one is in a driverless car but for the sake of the argument, let's say it only reduces the total by 30,000. That's a helluva lot of lives, man. 

Now, I don't know what your commute looks like but every day, I see a potential killer behind the wheel while I drive to and from work. 

Every. Day.

Whether it's someone blowing a red light, someone texting on the highway or just an elderly lady barely cognizant of where she is, the truth of the matter is we just can't trust human drivers like we can the computers. I hate to say it, but the numbers don't lie. Besides, when it comes to having my babies ride in the car, I would feel much better safer if all these "killers" on the road were texting away next to an empty driver's seat. As safe as I would feel in an airplane controlled by computers. 

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