This “self-driving car” dealio is weird and I approach it from several directions.
- As a computer scientist with some experience in automated vehicles (Positive Train Control), I find it fascinating. The problems the engineers need to overcome are daunting; I’m amazed they’ve come as far as they have given how chaotic driving can be just on the highway, never mind in San Francisco.
- As a driver who has seen some of it in action, I have concerns that it’s not yet up to the task. A friend has a vehicle with lane-following and adaptive cruise-control, and it “lost” the center line and lane lines a few times in the 30 minutes or so he demoed it to me. Roads here have painted lines, but no Bott dots and the harsh weather and frequent construction/repaving mean the lines might be there…might not be there. It was never dangerous because my friend is an attentive driver, but…
- As a student of user-interface design, marketing, and human behavior, I find the idea terrifying. The phrases “self-driving car” and “autopilot” (BAD Tesla - even most airplane autopilots don’t do what people think they do) are tailor-made to cause idiots to crash. Eventually - decades - people will adapt to the new way of driving (and it would really help if we invested several billion in infrastructure and ‘smart’ roadways), but in the near-to-medium term the gradual proliferation of “self-driving” cars is, in my opinion, going to result in more, not fewer accidents from inattentive driving. Cellphones are bad enough with a meatware-driven car - now you can get a software-driven car and you can take your calls, no problem!
I can’t wait to upgrade my car to one with adaptive cruise and lane following, but I’m a good driver. Just like all of you are. Not like all those other idiots out there on the road. 