[Travel] 'Self-driving' cars to be allowed on UK roads this year

[Icy Gull]

Don't be obtuse.

'Controlling the speed of the car' is literally the point and function of cruise control. My car (and obviously millions of others) also has Lane Assist, which automatically keeps you in the centre of any (marked) lane, unless you purposely indicate or steer out of it, and will automatically brake if anything enters the road space in front of me. (The only difference I can obviously see from what I already do on the motorway, and what this development does, is that I'd legally be able to take both hands completely off the wheel, rather than resting one of them loosely on the wheel now.

Autonomous driving is controlled by cameras on the car from my understanding. The difference between old school cruise control is that you set the speed limit and how far behind the car in front of you that you want to stay. The car will then adjust the speed and distance you travel behind the car in front of you up to the speed limit you have set. Does your car adjust your speed to the conditions once you have set cruise control or does it just keep travelling at the speed you set? Won’t be a good idea to take your hands off the wheel in heavy traffic if so.

I have this function on my car but have not been brave enough to use it yet, maybe the next time I’m in a slow moving 5 mile tailback I’ll give it a go

My worry is that if I programme staying 5 or 6 car lengths behind some **** will move into the gap I am leaving.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I’m going to have to consider giving the chauffeur his notice

If your van could self-drive it would head for the nearest cafe.

 

[brightn'ove]

This has got disaster written all over it:

1. Teething troubles (i.e. operating in ice, fog, heavy rain, electric storm) cause million of pounds in insurance claims.
2. You and I pay for that in higher premiums.

Because humans are infallible in those conditions right?

 

[AZ Gull]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AF4uo9Eu5g

(with the best thing being that it looks like Ecto 1...)

Ha! That is my neck of the woods - in fact, the SoZo Coffee House where he gets dropped is less than 2 miles from my house, as the crow flies.

Waymo have been testing in the Phoenix area for many years now.

They have now rolled out completely driverless ride-hailing. The other week as I was leaving the grocery store one of the cars had just pulled up to pick up a shopper, and then a few days later someone was getting into a car by the park just around the corner from where I live. It is still very surreal (to me) to see a car driving on the street with no-one in the front of the vehicle.

 

[studio150]

My worry is that if I programme staying 5 or 6 car lengths behind some **** will move into the gap I am leaving.

They will, and your vehicle will slow itself down to adjust the distance between you and the new vehicle in front, and will only gradually increase your speed once the distance increases.

 

[Stat Brother]

Because humans are infallible in those conditions right?

Depends on whether they are "checking their emails or watching a movie" or not

 

[AZ Gull]

Umm, well...

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money...-two-dead-texas-and-ignites-blaze/7276828002/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54175359

https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/26/21154502/tesla-autopilot-fatal-crashes

Really.

So a vehicle with adaptive cruise control, still works if the front camera is dirty, or does it switch off and the driver have to take over.
How does the lane control work on a smart motorway when lane 1 is closed, or does the driver have to take control

Perhaps you should read the Thatcham reports on ALKS given they are the experts, and then list on here everything that has yet to be ironed out, you will probably be surprised at the length of the list you come up with.

Because humans are infallible in those conditions right?

I'm with [MENTION=19043]brightn'ove[/MENTION] on this one. Of course there will be accidents (and fatalities) caused by self-driving vehicles, but they will be far, far fewer than the accidents (and fatalities) caused by humans. Bring it on, I say.

 

[Icy Gull]

They will, and your vehicle will slow itself down to adjust the distance between you and the new vehicle in front, and will only gradually increase your speed once the distance increases.

Not before I hit the brake it won’t

 

[Stat Brother]

They will, and your vehicle will slow itself down to adjust the distance between you and the new vehicle in front, and will only gradually increase your speed once the distance increases.

This being the UK, drivers will end up perpetually further from their destination than when they started the journey.

 

[Half Time Pies]

My (completely run of the mill) car already does both these things (at whatever speed I set the cruise to) What is the big development here?

Although your car already does it (so does my Tesla) you have to have complete control of the vehicle from a legal perspective so your hands have to be on the wheel and you can’t do other things while the car is driving itself. From a legal perspective this is not self driving it’s driving assistance. This as I understand it would remove the responsibility of the driver to have control of the vehicle so you could have your hands off the wheel and potentially do other things like check emails or watch a movie.

 

[Seasidesage]

For people like me who hate driving it'll be great although I still think it'll be years away. My alloys will also be grateful. I like the idea of Newcastle away, getting into the car going back to sleep arriving at the pub for opening drinking all day watching the 0-0 draw followed by a night on the Quayside. Back in the car hook me up to an IV wake up outside my house Sunday morning just in time to go and play golf. I could still be going to away games at 90 like that

 

[studio150]

Handy if you have had one too many at lunch and want a snooze going home, as long as it doesn't self drive like the wife of course.

Not really, given RTA 1988 S4 which makes it an offence when diving, or being in charge of a motor vehicle, when under the influence of drink or drugs.

I would assume that you are still at least in charge of the vehicle,

 

[Doonhamer7]

Technology can do it, what we still haven’t resolved is the morality of what happens when life/death decisions have to be made - does car put you in front of a lorry to avoid a mother with pram etc. Govt will have to make theses AI decisions at some point. We are also naive to thing we will never have accidents, they will still happen but it is expected the frequency and therefore no. of deaths will reduce.

 

[Stat Brother]

Technology can do it, what we still haven’t resolved is the morality of what happens when life/death decisions have to be made - does car put you in front of a lorry to avoid a mother with pram etc. Govt will have to make theses AI decisions at some point. We are also naive to thing we will never have accidents, they will still happen but it is expected the frequency and therefore no. of deaths will reduce.

Crashes not accidents.

 

[Icy Gull]

Technology can do it, what we still haven’t resolved is the morality of what happens when life/death decisions have to be made - does car put you in front of a lorry to avoid a mother with pram etc. Govt will have to make theses AI decisions at some point. We are also naive to thing we will never have accidents, they will still happen but it is expected the frequency and therefore no. of deaths will reduce.

I will never go in a car that doesn’t have a human able to over ride decisions or where I am not in ultimate control as the driver. I’ll let the younger generation embrace this, which they will

 

[beorhthelm]

Technology can do it, what we still haven’t resolved is the morality of what happens when life/death decisions have to be made - does car put you in front of a lorry to avoid a mother with pram etc. Govt will have to make theses AI decisions at some point. We are also naive to thing we will never have accidents, they will still happen but it is expected the frequency and therefore no. of deaths will reduce.

the protocol would be to not put others in danger. if that means you end up in danger, so be it. that shouldnt arise if dont put others in danger is followed (shouldnt have put you in collision with lorry in first place). as you say we must assume there will be accidents, not assume infallibility.

 

[schmunk]

That be fun following a robot car for 30 miles along a 60 limit road with no overtaking possibilities, going to be really safe for the impatient drivers stuck behind

And herein lies the problem - like VAR, it's not the technology at fault but the human implementation.

Once everybody's in a self driving car, there will be no overtaking, or it will be negotiated between the vehicles.

 

[LamieRobertson]

If your van could self-drive it would head for the nearest cafe.

You know me so well

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Not long now folks.
https://youtu.be/tTq6Tofmo7E

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Although your car already does it (so does my Tesla) you have to have complete control of the vehicle from a legal perspective so your hands have to be on the wheel and you can’t do other things while the car is driving itself. From a legal perspective this is not self driving it’s driving assistance. This as I understand it would remove the responsibility of the driver to have control of the vehicle so you could have your hands off the wheel and potentially do other things like check emails or watch a movie.

That was my point. The technology doesn’t seem radically different to what we already use.