re: Autonomous 18-wheelers are almost here. (Maximum Overdrive will happen soon)

quote:

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An autonomous truck isn't going to avoid a crash because honky lips in his Dodge Ram tried to swerve over 3 lanes to get to the exit ramp at the last second. It also isn't going to stop the tailgater in the Pirius from eating the back end of the trailer when the auto-truck comes to a sudden stop.

I get the feeling people think these vehicles are magic.

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If I'm on a jury and it's obvious that Captain Smug offed himself because he drove his Prius headlong into 80,000 pounds of steel and cargo, I don't care if the truck was autonomous or not. It's Captain Smug's fault and I'm telling his family they'll get nothing and they need to get bent. I'm also awarding the trucking company legal fees if they ask for it.

It's demonstrable, though, that autonomous vehicles are far safer than humans when driven in conditions they're programmed properly for. Just look up Google's driving statistics. Sure, it doesn't handle rain or snow well, right now, but they're constantly improving and the day is rapidly approaching when the set of conditions autonomous vehicles handle better than humans can be summed up as "always".

As long as there are humans driving, though, there will be avoidable accidents, but it's fallacious to say that autonomous vehicles should be somehow maligned because they can't avoid an accident for which they're not at-fault.

EDIT: How did I get into a serious discussion on the OT when I just came here to shite on truckers that set up rolling roadblocks to pass other truckers going a half mile an hour slower than they are?