Who dies,,,  programming is going to decide ???   Hard for me to swallow letting a CPU kill    

I'd much rather sleep during a rush-hour commute and let KITT take control than continually stare at the brake lights in front of me.

Greyhound Bus lines had a slogan like that!

Good points Ron....thanks...although let me clarify that I'm not complaining; simply trying to understand the latest phenomenon....

So, let's say this new tech marvel becomes reality.  Would it be safe to say that these new wundercars will have collision avoidance systems installed??

Stay tuned...

I prefer to drive myself as well.
But, if that technology does take over, at least offer me an override button for the occasional burnout or high speed blast.
 

Rudi wrote:

Seeing what a 58 Fury self driving vehicle did to people I have no desire whatsoever to own one.

 
I don't think anyone "owned" Christine.

Uber has already been test running computer driven taxis in Pittsburgh. Said they picked the Pittsburgh market because of the driving challenges. I don't know if they were talking about the terrain or the people.

I actually think that driverless cars could be a really great thing.

Think about all the assholes who almost cream you every day on the road because they really want to text their friend or put on makeup or eat spaghetti or stare at the clouds or whatever else they're doing. And then give them the ability to do what they want to be doing... while not endangering you! Sounds pretty flippin great to me.

Traffic would also be reduced (less wrecks, less assholes cutting around in traffic causing people to slam on their brakes, cars can follow each other more closely) and I guess it would be irrelevant anyways if you could catch a nap on the way to your destination.

As long as they don't ban manually driven cars, then driverless cars seem like an amazing deal for those of us who DO like driving.

I drove down to Florida with the family this last July!  There were times that would of been really nice.  To watch a movie or take a nap.  But id have to 100% have to trust it before using it too!

Steve69

I work on very expensive and highly complicated machines every day. (Boeing 737's). They have all kinds of very highly advanced electronics systems on board for operation of the aircraft. They sometimes fail. That's why I have a job. If an inflight failure occurs, there is always a redundant system to fall back on, and if that fails, that is why there is a flight crew on board. If that inflight failure happens, there is always lots of room to maneuver the aircraft to a safe landing. If a failure of an autocar happens in fast moving heavy traffic - would the average texting or video watching or snoozing driver be able to retake control of the vehicle and get it safely stopped before an accident occurs? I doubt it very much. I will be the first one in line to purchase an autocar - once HELL FREEZES OVER!

Autodriving cars, maybe.  There have been people working on this technology for decades.  Maybe in some limited circumstances, but the real danger is hackers.  A lot of vehicles are already complex enough that they can be hacked and the hacker can gain control over some vehicle functions like brakes (thanks to integrated computer controlled ABS).  Of course, with a built in backdoor this would also give the government control over your vehicle.  This is what you get when everyone seems to want WiFi in their car.  Once the system is connected to the net there's a way in, and that means vulnerability. 

I'm reminded that not that long ago Porsches didn't have cupholders.  The Germans were baffled that anyone would try to eat or drink something while driving.  Of course that was before they started building SUVs and widened their brand to take advantage of the largest market in the world for vehicles. 

One thing's for sure, there will always be an override.  Even if one isn't built in from the factory someone will figure it out and market it.

A few years ago, a Toyota Camry in "autocar mode" broadsided my car with my 15YO student driver at the wheel & my wife by his side.  Darned near took his life.  Driver of the Camry in autocar mode eventually lost her leg, as the bones were shattered badly from front impact with leg jammed on the brake pedal (to no avail).  Due to the laws of unintended consequences, I have no interest in autocars.

On the other hand, my wife's parents are aging, and if programming a destination into a gps would allow additional independence to a clear thinking, but physically feeble segment of the population, I can see the benefits.