Autonomous driving legal next year

HillStreetBlues

I see a few here won't be taking a Johnny cab.

[Deleted User]

I have a BMW iX3 which is more than capable of safely conveying me down a motorway and on most roads if they have good lane markings. The Driver Assistance mode requires hands on the steering wheel, and it monitors the driver’s attention level with a dashboard camera. As speed and traffic conditions change it adjusts the separation distance from the vehicle in front. If I select overtake with a car in my blind spot, my car will not react. The car will also slow, stop and accelerate as the traffic flow demands. I can see vehicles etc ahead of me on the driver display which works well in fog when driving with no automatic assistance,

The navigation system will also reduce speed automatically approaching roundabouts and traffic lights. In an EV, it does this to ensure maximum range by coasting whether possible.

These are driving assistance not autonomous driving modes. 

That said, by far the most useful mode in my car is the speed limiter. It is great for driving through town; however, it is not to be entirely trusted. Our speed signage is poor, and often subject to vandalism. The camera can also erroneously detect speed signs on the corners of junctions etc.

Finally, would I trust any sat nav to get me from A to B: the answer is ‘no’. If any device needed AI it is the sat nav. It’s idea of suitable roads doesn’t match mine.

zagfles

Emmia said:

unforeseen said:

May be that pedestrians will need to be fenced in such that they can only cross at specified places. The will have gates tied in with the traffic light system. A bit like the platform doors on the Underground

Everyone is a pedestrian at somepoint, and so I doubt that wholesale fencing of every pavement everywhere is likely to be popular. 

Or practical or even possible. "Fencing" a train platform is one thing, fencing hundreds of thousands of miles of road is another!

zagfles

unforeseen said:

 occupants in a broken down car (perhaps one on fire) would be trapped in a live traffic area, and would find it difficult to avoid being in a collision themselves.

And that is any different to urban dual carriageways and smart motorways now? 

They tend to have low level crash barriers that are easy to step over. Not fencing designed to prevent pedestrians entering the road.

unforeseen

zagfles said:

unforeseen said:

 occupants in a broken down car (perhaps one on fire) would be trapped in a live traffic area, and would find it difficult to avoid being in a collision themselves.

And that is any different to urban dual carriageways and smart motorways now? 

They tend to have low level crash barriers that are easy to step over. Not fencing designed to prevent pedestrians entering the road.

Not when it's 15ft high walls like the A50 through Stoke. Nowhere to escape to. 
Other places have similar. 

[Deleted User]

I tried this it a few years ago in Japan. Nissan system, it was very stable and reassuring once you got over the initial hesitancy to let go of the wheel.

zagfles

unforeseen said:

zagfles said:

unforeseen said:

 occupants in a broken down car (perhaps one on fire) would be trapped in a live traffic area, and would find it difficult to avoid being in a collision themselves.

And that is any different to urban dual carriageways and smart motorways now? 

They tend to have low level crash barriers that are easy to step over. Not fencing designed to prevent pedestrians entering the road.

Not when it's 15ft high walls like the A50 through Stoke. Nowhere to escape to. 
Other places have similar. 

That's why I said "tend to" rather than they all do. I'm not sure what your point is, just because in some places the physical constraints of the road layout prevent occupants of a broken down car escaping a live traffic area (tunnels being another obvious example), that the same should be deliberately engineered everywhere? That hundreds of thousands of miles of fencing should be installed on all roads to separate pedestrians from cars and hence prevent occupants of a broken down car escaping a live traffic area?

Emmia

zagfles said:

Emmia said:

unforeseen said:

May be that pedestrians will need to be fenced in such that they can only cross at specified places. The will have gates tied in with the traffic light system. A bit like the platform doors on the Underground

Everyone is a pedestrian at somepoint, and so I doubt that wholesale fencing of every pavement everywhere is likely to be popular. 

Or practical or even possible. "Fencing" a train platform is one thing, fencing hundreds of thousands of miles of road is another!

A better solution would be reducing the number of cars on the road by 90%, especially in cities where public transport should be the norm.

wongataa

MouldyOldDough said:

Ectophile said:

MouldyOldDough said:

user1977 said:

MouldyOldDough said:

ComicGeek said:

We have a Mustang MachE - it pretty much drives itself on the motorway now, just need to keep hands lightly on the steering wheel. It works really really well, makes long journeys much easier. The only difference between the current situation and the proposed upgrade is that the driver won't need to keep their hands on the wheel - personally I'm not paying £20/month for that, and would feel safer hands on anyway.

It doesn't operate in poor weather conditions or where lane markings are really unclear, and can only be activated when conditions are appropriate. 

All of the comments above relate to city/urban driving - that's not what the system is for, and it can only be activated in specific areas anyway so isn't relevant for now. Important questions and concerns for the future though as automation moves forward.

So what happens if you are driving semi autonomously and suddenly hit dense fog? 

Looks like the car will pull over, or just stop where it is (unless you take over manual control quickly enough):

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/autonomous-cars-confused-by-san-franciscos-fog/

I suppose if you get a car using radar then it will be able to. take fog in its stride?

So if your car stops suddenly on the motorway!
And you are on a smart motorway 
Crunch

That's why the driver is supposed to be ready to take control at a moment's notice.  Many systems require that you are touching the steering wheel even in autonomous mode.

That's dangerous 
Not even knowing when you are supposed to take over 

With all these driver assistance modes the driver is still supposed to be paying attention as they should be if driving without these modes so they will be aware of what is going on around them.  That is why the driver should be able to take over at any time if necessary with no issues.  If you can see potential hazards outside and cannot comprehend that you may need to be in control then you should not be driving.

MouldyOldDough

wongataa said:

MouldyOldDough said:

Ectophile said:

MouldyOldDough said:

user1977 said:

MouldyOldDough said:

ComicGeek said:

We have a Mustang MachE - it pretty much drives itself on the motorway now, just need to keep hands lightly on the steering wheel. It works really really well, makes long journeys much easier. The only difference between the current situation and the proposed upgrade is that the driver won't need to keep their hands on the wheel - personally I'm not paying £20/month for that, and would feel safer hands on anyway.

It doesn't operate in poor weather conditions or where lane markings are really unclear, and can only be activated when conditions are appropriate. 

All of the comments above relate to city/urban driving - that's not what the system is for, and it can only be activated in specific areas anyway so isn't relevant for now. Important questions and concerns for the future though as automation moves forward.

So what happens if you are driving semi autonomously and suddenly hit dense fog? 

Looks like the car will pull over, or just stop where it is (unless you take over manual control quickly enough):

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/autonomous-cars-confused-by-san-franciscos-fog/

I suppose if you get a car using radar then it will be able to. take fog in its stride?

So if your car stops suddenly on the motorway!
And you are on a smart motorway 
Crunch

That's why the driver is supposed to be ready to take control at a moment's notice.  Many systems require that you are touching the steering wheel even in autonomous mode.

That's dangerous 
Not even knowing when you are supposed to take over 

With all these driver assistance modes the driver is still supposed to be paying attention as they should be if driving without these modes so they will be aware of what is going on around them.  That is why the driver should be able to take over at any time if necessary with no issues.  If you can see potential hazards outside and cannot comprehend that you may need to be in control then you should not be driving.

Surely the ultimate goal is to allow totally driver-free transport?