Let's talk Self Driving Cars again!

[captain3d]

On a related note

https://sfstandard.com/2023/08/11/san-francisco-robotaxi-cruise-debauchery/

As autonomous vehicles become increasingly popular in San Francisco, some riders are wondering just how far they can push the vehicles’ limits—especially with no front-seat driver or chaperone to discourage them from questionable behavior.

 

[NW-Bound]

I did not think of all the possible shenanigans going on in these robotaxis.

To think of the dirty back seats. Yuck! Count me out.

 

[Koolau]

I did not think of all the possible shenanigans going on in these robotaxis.

To think of the dirty back seats. Yuck! Count me out.

But think of the money you could save on hotel rooms!

 

[JoeWras]

I did not think of all the possible shenanigans going on in these robotaxis.

To think of the dirty back seats. Yuck! Count me out.

There are shenanigans going on OUTSIDE the taxis too.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-fight-against-robotaxis-in-san-francisco/ar-AA1f0v74

After realizing that placing a simple orange cone on the hood seemed to paralyze a state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle, Safe Street Rebel posted a TikTok video encouraging San Francisco residents to try it for themselves.

 

[statsman]

There are cameras *everything* outside and inside Waymo's vehicles. 99% of the time those accidents being blamed on Waymo end up proving someone else was at fault based on the available video. Mess with those vehicles at your own risk.

 

[NW-Bound]

For shenanigans inside the car, robotaxis need to have ejection seats to dump the offenders out onto the street, for everyone to see.

For acts committed outside the car, that's harder to deter without equipping the robotaxi with automated weapons.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

For shenanigans inside the car, robotaxis need to have ejection seats to dump the offenders out onto the street, for everyone to see.

For acts committed outside the car, that's harder to deter without equipping the robotaxi with automated weapons.

Perhaps this is the missing part of the picture...robotaxi driver...no more messing around the car inside or out.....

 

[Koolau]

How about Arnold...

 

[indiajust]

My hope is that they abandon the difficult complexity of the big city in favor of rural simplicity. It would be cake to memorize a local town, and then restrict trips to that local area only. This would eliminate all the elderly driving, replace the ugly yellow union school bus, and save a fortune.

If Claremont sold the 10k infrequently used elder owners cars and most of the buses, I would expect less wrecks, less traffic, lower costs, better service, and more money for the residents and the taxpayers. Reserve some nice efficient recent models for community renting for long trips, plus one or two big buses for big outings at a distance.

Poorer rural communities might reduce costs and improve service. Poverty subsidy is done via usage card or phone app.

Technologically it is so much simpler to implement.

 

[Midpack]

My hope is that they abandon the difficult complexity of the big city in favor of rural simplicity. It would be cake to memorize a local town, and then restrict trips to that local area only. This would eliminate all the elderly driving, replace the ugly yellow union school bus, and save a fortune.

If Claremont sold the 10k infrequently used elder owners cars and most of the buses, I would expect less wrecks, less traffic, lower costs, better service, and more money for the residents and the taxpayers. Reserve some nice efficient recent models for community renting for long trips, plus one or two big buses for big outings at a distance.

Poorer rural communities might reduce costs and improve service. Poverty subsidy is done via usage card or phone app.

Technologically it is so much simpler to implement.

It seems that is what is happening. Most of the self driving efforts seem to master highways and rural areas long before crowded metro areas. Obviously Waymo, Cruise and Tesla have had some success in cities, though they use wholely different tech/methodology - which may scale very differently. I don't see any reason they shouldn't try to continue down that path - so FSD is a reality by the time the state takes my license away.

The other serious unknown to my knowledge is dealing with snow/ice covered roads and/or serious visibility issues darkness/fog/heavy rain? I haven't seen any of the SD programs really tackle those issues? Getting all the way to level 5 could be a LONG way off and require infrastructure changes.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes, it's easier to do self-driving cars in rural areas. The problem is financial; there would not be enough trips to make money.

A few years ago, going on a trip along the famed coastal Hwy 1 up the Pacific coast, we stayed in Point Arena for a week. The town had no Internet service. I guess that there was not enough potential business there for the local phone company to bother.

I used the free Internet at the small public library but it was slow and with a time quota. It worked by satellite (Hughes Net).

The irony is that just a few miles north was the Manchester Cable Station. I drove there to take a look. It was where the submarine fiber cable linking the US and Japan emerged from the sea.

Talk about being so close to a 100-lane information freeway, but having no access ramp to it. Perhaps the situation has changed now for Point Arena with new wireless technologies.