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Discussion » Questions » Transportation » Regardless of whether you’re in one or it’s near you, how much trust do you have in the safety of self-driving cars as they exist* today?

Regardless of whether you’re in one or it’s near you, how much trust do you have in the safety of self-driving cars as they exist* today?


  Please allow me to clarify my meaning on the part about whether you’re in one or it’s near you. By “near you”, I’m referring to any situation wherein the self-driving car could potentially cause you physical injury, grievous harm, or death based on you being in an adjacent vehicle, being a pedestrian, being in a building or open area where the car might stray, etc. 


*  On the part about “as they exist today”; further safety improvements or protocols might be implemented in the future, and might also be the result of lessons learned the hard way after some more negative incidents have taken place. Research and development, trial and error, test conditions aside, my question is about the fact that some such vehicles are already operating on public roads, and anecdotal evidence shows that some glitches still haven’t been rectified, and/or are being newly discovered.
~

Posted - June 3, 2022

Responses


  • 5451
    My husband owns a small trucking company (five drivers).  I handle some of the work for him, such as safety.  When we hire a new driver, which is rare because we only have five of them, we tell them to ask themselves a couple of question to help them keep a safe distance between them and the car or truck ahead of them.

    If the truck ahead of you is equipped with a forward-facing radar collision mitigation system, and it all of the sudden slams on that truck’s brakes because it detects a stopped vehicle in front of it which isn’t there, do you have enough space in front of you to react and not hit that truck?

    If the self-driving car ahead of you mistakes the moon for a yellow light, do you have enough space in front of you to react and not hit that car?
      June 3, 2022 4:23 PM MDT
    4

  • 53503

     

      See? Those things should not be unleashed on our streets and roads and highways. 

    :(

      June 3, 2022 4:37 PM MDT
    2

  • 3701
    I have no trust in any self-driving vehicle.  How many more things are they going to mechanize so that we don't have to use our brains?
      June 3, 2022 4:25 PM MDT
    4

  • 53503
    I concur.
    ~
      June 3, 2022 4:27 PM MDT
    4

  • 44602
    Of course, half of the drivers out there don't have a brain.
      June 5, 2022 8:34 AM MDT
    1

  • 10635
    Zero!      And I have even less trust for the non self-driving ones (they need to be recalled for having a defective nut behind the steering wheel).
      June 3, 2022 7:07 PM MDT
    4

  • 10052
    Less than I trust harem contracts. 
      June 3, 2022 7:55 PM MDT
    4

  • 53503

     

     Technically, that’s good. It means you trust the contracts more! I’ll be right over with a freshly-printed copy and a vat of massage oil! (I’m so happy, folks.)



    ~

      June 4, 2022 12:04 AM MDT
    2

  • 10052
    I'm not nearly that old, btw! I just noticed. 

    Grrrrrrr!
      June 4, 2022 8:58 PM MDT
    2

  • 53503

     

      It’s the thought that counts. 


      (You don’t object if the actress who’s portraying you in my mind-movie is a bit different than you in some ways, do you?)
    ~

      June 4, 2022 11:50 PM MDT
    2

  • 10052
    I also notice he's wearing a ring and she isn't. 
     
    I hope your mind-movie reflects my wholesomeness! 


      June 5, 2022 10:11 AM MDT
    2

  • 53503

    ~

      June 5, 2022 10:15 AM MDT
    2

  • 23574

    I admit I know very little about self-driving cars but I don't trust the concept.
      June 3, 2022 7:56 PM MDT
    4

  • 17592
    Zero.  I don't even like driving an automatic trans car.  I want to drive my car all by myself.  I admit that I do like the windshield wipers.  I prefer windows that you manually raise and lower too.
      June 3, 2022 9:16 PM MDT
    3

  • 23574
    I prefer to manually roll up and down my windows, too.
      June 5, 2022 2:44 AM MDT
    3

  • 17592
    If my car goes into the harbor, I intend to get out of it.  The car I'm driving right now has power windows but I have a window punch within reach. 
      June 5, 2022 4:51 PM MDT
    2

  • 16763
    Not a fan, the tech isn't even close to ready yet. There's always a dumbjohn who does something on the road so abysmally stupid that the computer wasn't programmed to anticipate it.
    I do let "George" (cruise control) take care of maintaining speed on the open road, to save my right ankle - but I'm always on the alert even then. Manual transmission is also preferred - when passing a truck, dropping a cog and planting the foot gives me a little more power.
      June 5, 2022 3:36 AM MDT
    1