Blank_Canvas
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Driverless cars can already be legally tested on public roads in the UK so it won't be long before they become the 'norm' here.
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Come close to a head on collision this morning
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viv1969
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They can only be tested on certain designated roads.
They can't be taken out for a bat on any old road.
Blank_Canvas
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They can Viv, the legislation is in place for them to be tested on public roads. If you're interested in this subject the Department of Transport's 'Pathway to Driverless Cars' makes interesting reading.
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It is also possible to hack into cars computers and remotely take control of certain car functions. Imagine what can be done to a fully automated car.
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Not all change is good. I enjoy driving and car ownership and so do many, many other people. For a lot of people car ownership isn't just about getting from A to B.
Blank_Canvas
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You're right, already on the Governments radar. That's already being considered in the DoT framework (Pathway to Driverless Cars). If not addressed it has the potential to do a lot of harm.
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The way I see it (and I may be wrong) cars will just have automated controls that you can chose to use or not use. Currently we have cars that have:
- Cruise Control
- Automatic parking
- Automatic overtaking
- Automatic breaking when getting close
- Designated route planning
- Lane deviation warning
They all come at a cost but we are only a heartbeat away from getting there. I've got cruise control on my car but don't always use it because it's no good going into a sharp bend at 60mph in icy conditions, I wouldn't chance it. Still a massive amount of work to be done by car manufactures. That aside, like you, I enjoy driving.
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I was hoping for photon torpedoes but lasers make more sense, they could heat the Tarmac to a nice molten pool and it could set before the next car comes along.
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Can't say I've heard of automatic overtaking.
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The current world is based on the needs of lots of different people, the vast majority are getting along just fine without autonomous cars. If you don't like driving, don't buy a car, get a cab, a bike or go by train. I've left out buses as I reckon they cause more congestion than they are worth, by keep stopping at the side of a road or having their own lanes.
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Check out the new Mercedes E Class. You hold the indicator in for two seconds and if the cars radar considers it safe to overtake it will then do so.
Although the technology is there and legal in Germany, it's use in the UK isn't yet but should be by the end of October according to reports.
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I think it's something I can safely manage for myself as should anyone who has passed their driving test. Other than using the cruise control just to maintain a speed, I much prefer being in control of the accelerator and steering myself.
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I agree, but it has the potential to save lives. Many accidents are caused by drivers not checking their blind spots. In addition if the driver takes his hands off the steering wheel for a 'nominated' period of time, the vehicle will put on hazard lights and using its radar slow down, pull over and stop. I can recall a case where the driver has had a coronary thrombosis whilst driving at speed and taken out a whole family of four in a second vehicle. It's widespread use could prevent similar incidents. At present this is top of the range expensive technology but so was Inbuilt Satnavs and audible reversing warnings, these are becoming the norm now even in new budget cars.
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I think that is far too slow, because it will then require very hard acceleration to get to the speed where you are matching the speed of the motorway traffic.
http://www.theorytestadvice.co.uk/learn-to-drive/dual-carriageways.php
"Join a dual carriageway from a slip road by building up speed to match that of the traffic on the dual carriageway"
I generally try to merge at 55mph - 65mph in 4th gear, which then means I can change into 5th when I have merged and settled in the most suitable lane at 70mph.
Sejanus Aelianus
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Which is the point.
The idea is that you get to the point where you can evaluate the traffic flow at a speed that allows you to do so and still have plenty of space ahead of you to accelerate into a safe gap. If you come roaring up a slip road and there's no space, you'll have to brake hard and the chances are that the prune behind you will be sharing your boot.
Edit: hard braking in motorway conditions can be fatal as happened here...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...illed-motorcyclist-traveling-fell-braked.html
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I'm looking at the earliest opportunity when on the slip road. Slowing to leave a road is an entirely different matter. Deceleration slip roads are generally more than long enough to enter then brake, it's one of my bug bears to be behind cars that unnecessarily scrub off most of the speed before they even get into the slip road. Don't get me started on the planks who stop in tslip roads to text or chat on their phones.
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Oh yes there are plenty when I've wtf, how did they get away with that?
Like the penis that joined the M1 recently, solid but moving traffic nose to tail artics in the near side and middle lanes
"he" was coming out whatever, how he put a 15 feet car into a 5 feet gap, I'll never know!
No sex though, don't want to risk a heart attack
Absolutely!
And all that "automatic" worries me, when you rely on machines / computers, you become complaisant.
For the same reasons that people ended up in ditches or peoples back gardens because the sat nav told them to!
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And as I kinda mentioned above, the car industry spin off's is a multi million ££ tax generator.
Driving lessons, Driving tests, (Mot's, & servicing may need to stay of course.)
Insurance as you mentioned, and I bet all these robotic devices will be electric, ( or even maybe solar powered)
so there goes the fuel industry along with the millions ££ ( billions ££) of generated tax.
Further down the line this whole issue will cost the country billions ££ in lost revenue.
viv1969
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As I said a few posts back " hopefully not in my lifetime"Aye, but not for x decades, so my motoring won't be changing
Can you imagine the shambles of the cross over period, where robots and humans are driving cars in the same road space?
The "driver-less" cars are programmed to avoid collisions etc, the human drivers will use this to their advantage and "bully" the cars into giving way
The insurance claims should make interesting reading when one hits the other
omens
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It's amazing what a change there is in people's driving behaviour once there's a police car around. It's not so much they can't be bothered or rubbish at driving so much as being lazy.
So can breathing in wrong, taking the wrong step etc. Life is always fatal.
Overautomation leads to carelessness. I recall one bit of research where they stuck a speed limiter on a car. The drivers (who were all young) paid less attention and messed around more because they had less to concentrate on.
That's the kind of stupidity that should be eliminated during driving lessons. I will happily overtake but never where I can't see where my car will be nor where I can't see oncoming traffic. That means hills and blind bends amongst other places. Frustratingly, hills and blind bends seem to be exactly where double white lines stop rather than start.
I've seen the same. It can be quite scary.
More than happy. Perhaps whilst car goes in for MOT/service, driver could go for a quick test too.
It always amazes me how drivers on the joining slip road seem to think they have right of way, forgetting that in the worse case scenario, they have to stop and give way.It's interesting watching these individuals trying to pull onto the M6 during the morning rush hour.
But I think this is the future. Human error causes a lot of accidents. Reduce or eliminate it and there will be fewer accidents. When all vehicles are completely autonomous, then there might not be any accidents at all.
In some ways, it's better to teach drivers to become better rather than let the technology do all the work. I make a habit of checking my blindspots regularly. The wife didn't but after I kept getting her to check it, she does check it now. At least when I'm with her.
Doubt it. I imagine things will be changed or amended. Just like when we shifted from horse and carriage to cars, there was a loss of some industry but creation and development elsewhere. The car will be taxed when sold or bought, the "road tax" (vehicle excise duty) will still be present, and there might well be a renewable fuel use tax too.
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Things were much simpler then, I wonder if future generations will say the same a 100 hundred years after full "automation" ?
Oh I have no doubt even if "we" are running around with solar panels built into the car, to power said car,
the "Government / dictatorship of the day will still find a way of screwing the "motorists"
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All the safety features lead to carelessness. There was a documentary on TV several years ago about vehicle safety, the introduction of crash test dummies after people were actually used. A man that was involved in the various testing and introduction of safety features, said it would have been far better to have not bothered with any safety features, fit a spike to all steering wheels and everyone would improve their driving immediately.
The government is to allow the public to start using fully autonomous vehicles by 2020, but more and more features are being added to vehicles all the time, self parking, auto braking, pedestrian detection, etc etc. making drivers lazy and less able to drive. There are more than enough people on the road who really shouldn't be because they lack confidence. How are they going to gain confidence if cars are going to be doing more and more for them before they become fully automated.
The only benefit of having a car with all the features is lower insurance premiums, I'd still prefer to make the decisions and manoeuvres for myself though and switch the features off.
viv1969
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Well said, if some people can't even take photographs in the automatic or programme mode and get it right how on earth can people be trusted to override automation in motor vehicles when required in potentially hazardous situations !
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That made me chuckle it immediately reminded me of the guy complaining about his Automatic BMW only working in D-ay mode
And not moving at N-ight