Would you trust your car to drive you to your destination ? Image Credit: General Motors / YouTube
General Motors is aiming to produce a completely autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals.
The automotive giant is petitioning the US government to approve or adjust 16 existing motor vehicle standards with the goal of enabling the roll out of a truly autonomous vehicle by as early as next year.
The new car, which is known as the Cruise AV, will require absolutely no input whatsoever save for setting up the vehicle's destination using the on-board computer system.
"The Cruise AV is designed to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or other manual controls when it goes on the road in 2019," the firm wrote.
Currently there are plans to test 7,500 of the cars across seven US states.
Whether the US government will approve the necessary law changes however remains to be seen.
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?
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? Not likely.
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.
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.
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 s... [More]
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 t... [More]
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. Just try and keep things in perspective. Computers are not perfect but they only have to be more perfect than human drivers. We currentl... [More]
Please Login or Register to post a comment.