Driverless cars

[bwfcforever]

if they are driverless ...then where are they going ..? :-)

do you think we shall see them in the next decade then ..? & would you want one

[jiltedjohn]

Driverless cars will come eventually putting bus drivers, taxi drivers, lorry drivers, DVLA staff etc on the dole.

With an aging population it will mean safer roads as half-blind didddering pensioners won't be behind the wheel.

Perhaps we will all live in camper vans, finish work go to the seaside watch the sunset go to bed and wake up in the morning back at the work place.

[handicapped_bhoy]

automation is putting unskilled and low-skilled workers out of work all the time.

back in the 1950s people used to dream about having everything automated so that people would have more leisure time.

thats turning out to be the case. more and more people in first world countries have more and more time on their hands.

i live in San Francisco. i was in nearby Palo Alto during the week for a business meeting where i saw the google driverless car in action on a public, busy road.

[jiltedjohn]

If one of these cars crashes or runs someone over, who will be sued, the owner or car maker?

Will electrical storms, power cuts, even terrorism interfere with control systems?

[handicapped_bhoy]

your first point is a valid concern. i expect the technology will be deployed in cars that still have all manual controls and a driver in a drivers seat looking after them. the "self drive" capability will be a "mode", much like cruise control in todays cars. as such liabilities will be much the same as they are today. the driver is still fiscally responsible for any accidents *he* causes through negligence, driver error, etc., and the car maker will be responsible for any accidents caused through their negligence in installing faulty or design-flawed technology.

to your second point, no more so than in todays cars.

[jiltedjohn]

Will these cars just be self drive on motorways or can they be used on country lanes? We've heard in the past about satnav directing people the wrong way down one-way streets, will these motors be controlled by satnav?
It all sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

[jiltedjohn]

On a plus, insurance companies won't be able to rip young people off, no more drink driving or speeding charges (less traffic cops, legal aid and judges required ). Cheaper taxi fares, no need to tip the curry delivery man, I'm beginning to warm to driverless motoring.

[Markovitch]

I didn't think these Google cars were legal on the road? Pretty certain they are not in New York