Remember the pedestrian who was killed by the auto-piloted Uber last year in Arizona? Her family is suing the state (and city of Tempe) for allowing Uber to use public roads as a test track for automated vehicle technology.
News story here.
Uber has already settled with the victim’s family.
But what about Uncle?
Isn’t it Uncle’s self-described (and self-appointed) job to “keep us safe”? How does that jibe with this?
Hasn’t Uncle failed to “keep us safe?”
Maybe Uncle should be sued. And he can be sued, under the Federal Tort Claims Act – which is an exception to the noxious doctrine of “sovereign immunity,” which decrees the king (the sovereign) can’t be sued by his serfs (us). Today, Uncle is king – but under the FTCA, it is possible for us to sue his employees. If you can establish “negligence in the performance of their duties.”
Excellent (cue Mr. Smithers voice).
There is a federal agency full of federal employees called the Department of Transportation; also the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which is likewise overflowing with federal employees.
All of them are supposedly employed, to one degree or another, toward the end of “keeping us safe.” Well, they haven’t. Autopiloted cars have already killed several people – which for the record is more people than VW’s “cheating” diesels ever killed (which number is none).
It is also what is known in law enforcement as a clue that something isn’t right.
Autopiloted cars are likely to kill more people – because of the flaws in the tech that resulted in the deaths of people such as Herzeberg, which have not been corrected. No general recall of cars with known-to-be-flawed autopilot tech has issued from the federal employees charged with “keeping us safe.”
Italics to make the point that negligence enters into the picture.
An airplane crashes. No one knows why. The reason why is discovered in the wreckage; there was a flaw with a critical component. If it can be shown that the airline knew, prior to the flight, then that is no accident – and is very actionable. Both civilly and criminally. The doctrine is that the airline had an obligation to not permit that airplane (or others like it, with the same problem) to fly. And that by permitting it – knowing there was a problem – the airline is responsible for the deaths of the passengers.
Well, ok.
Everyone knows there is a problem with autopilot tech. The designers know it. The car companies know it.
Uncle knows it.
And not only allows it – encourages it.
DOT and NHTSA have been incredibly cavalier with regard to autopilot tech. They have basically let the designers of it do pretty much as they please; there is no defined standard; no testing protocol which must be passed before this tech is allowed on public roads.
It’s startling.
The same Uncle – the same federal employees – which subjects cars in general to a regulatory compliance regime that is the bureaucratic equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition, micromanaging every last detail of car design, is letting things just kind of sort themselves out when it comes to autopilot tech.
If the same lax standard applied to emissions testing there would be hell to pay.
Imagine it. Toyota, GM, Ford – the lot – let loose to decide for themselves how much stuff came out of the tailpipes of their vehicles and even when the skies began to darken with smog and people started to cough and choke, Uncle would remain remote – like the demi-urge of Gnosticism.
Even better, imagine Uncle – federal employees – knew a certain carmaker was selling cars with a catalytic converter defeat device; or even merely defective converters.
Hell to pay, again.
Damages, too.
So why not here?
In law, it is supposed to be the principle of the thing that decides a case. Put another way, a uniform standard is supposed to be applied, else the laws are arbitrary gibberish. Which is in fact exactly what they are.
If the law had any substance, legions of federal employees who have signally not “kept us safe” would be frog-marched before the bench to face – and answer – charges of criminal negligence under the FTCA.
Not just for allowing known-to-be-dangerous auto-piloted cars to be beta tested on public roads, either. One could also bring a tort action against federal employees for knowingly allowing defective (shrapnel-spewing)air bags to remain in circulation. These have also killed – unlike VW, whose “cheating” diesels never were proved to have induced so much as a cough in an actual, living human being.
But VW was practically nailed to the cross.
Autopiloted mayhem? Meh… .
Which tells you a lot about Uncle’s real concern.
. . .
Got a question about cars – or anything else? Click on the “ask Eric” link and send ’em in!
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet (pictured below) in return for a $20 or more one-time donation or a $5 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a sticker – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
My latest eBook is also available for your favorite price – free! Click here. 
https://twitter.com/NetflixAndLamp/status/1114527009743437824/video/1
LOL.
Hey, at least the airbag did not go off and maim him.
Speaking of ‘not-keeping-us-safe’,
https://rollins4da.com/policy/charges-to-be-declined/
So if I understand this….
Boston police will ticket you for 5 over on the drive home.
When you get home, and find your place has been ransacked, they won’t bother to charge even if they know who did it.
On the other end of the pond – the end of the car has started…. .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-6851299/All-new-cars-fitted-mandatory-speed-limiters-2022-shock-EU-rules.html
It’s only a matter of time before that crap is over here. We usually follow the Europeans’ regulatory policies.
Hi Nasir,
I saw this, too. If it goes into effect so will Why Bother? There will no longer be any point to driving – much less buying – anything more than a basic transportation appliance. At least in terms of performance. Porsche, brands like it – gone.
All that’s left will be who has the “coolest” apps.
I feel ill.
honestly – same here. Find it depressing… Europe is beautiful…. and meant to be seen by road….. and this will completely mess it up….
Some weeks ago a cousin was here and he rented a car. It was hard wired with tracking and a dash-cam…. we found that shocking enough….
Now this 😛 Then they wonder why I hate the EU….. fuck them…
How will they sell these new cars when there are plenty of late model used cars WITHOUT this BS available?
Late model used cars won’t be around very long- they’re not built to last. So many have automatic trannies, which are garbage- and which cost mamny THOUSANDS of dollars to replace/rebuild; Touchscreen goes ojut, and ya can’t work the controls? $$$. VVT/VCT problem? $$$. Dual fuel system?GDI problem? $$$. Turbo problem? $$$.
Alternator on a new Ram truck? $1500. Just to replace a starter on some of these cars can cost over $1000. Some of these cars are already (when NEW) burning oil like a worn-out ’57 Dodge……
These late-model cars today are disposable. Once out of warranty, one or two things break- just throw ’em out, or you’ll be spending multiple thousands every year just to keep ’em going.
I believe this making of cars so jam-packed full of delicate electronics, compiuters and high-tech delicate mechanical systems, was on purpose, for the very reason of leaving us with no alternatives to new cars in the near future.
I’m afraid you’re right. Manual trannies have all but gone the way of the Dodo. My 2015 Focus, wonderful though it is, has one of those dual clutch auto trannies; I hope it lasts a good long time. Though it doesn’t have a touch screen, it has enough tech on it to make my 2006 Nissan look and feel ancient.
My ’06 Altima has a 4 speed auto, though it’s a conventional auto (hydraulic with torque converter) that’s a solid design; the tranny is still shifting smoothly on it. The engine is still good and strong too. I was trying to sell it, but who wants a 13-14 year old car with 190k on the clock? Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise, so I can keep the thing.
When it comes time to replace my Focus, I’ll look for an older (pre 2015) Toyota or Honda. They’re still well built; they’ll still last a long time without costing buku bucks. There’s a REASON why Toyotas and Hondas hold their value so well…
Find a good Toyota with a stick….NOW we’re talking!
It’s really a crime, with all of this technology, that instead of being used to improve things, it is used to complicate and ruin them.
To think, you used to be able to get a lowly Chevy with a TH350 or 400 tranny, and if the damn thing blew, you could get it rebuilt for a few hundred bucks…..
Metallurgy, and such has evolved to the point, where if they had stuck to the tried and true simple older designs, they could’ve improved them even more, to the point where a car could easily last 30 years, and be cheap to fix and maintain.
Now…..it takes all of this state-of-the-fart space-age magic just to make these little putt-putts blblblblbl [Jetson space-car noise] down the road!R
I rebuilt a Ford 460 engine in the bed of my pick’up once…it was no big deal. Today? I wouldn’t even touch one of these Rube Goldberg contraptions that they foist on us as engines……
TH350 & 400 trannies were DURABLE too. My dad had one in his old Chevy. Never heard of ’em breaking…
As for a stick, I can drive one. I can drive one well enough to shift without the clutch; after I launch the car in 1st gear using the clutch, I don’t need it anymore after that. I’ve owned a few cars with sticks over the years, and it wouldn’t take much for me to get back into the swing of things.
BTW, I’ve heard that manual trannies are a good theft prevention device. Why? Because hardly anyone can DRIVE them anymore!
4×4 Chevy pickups are pretty good at wearing out the TH350. They might not “break” but sure get weaker and weaker and suck even more gas.
One of my great mistakes in life was buying a new K-20 with TH350 instead of a four speed manual. In the latter case, I might still have it 45 years later.
They were easy to rebuild into a 375 but with no OD, were more easily replace with a 400, the forever transmission. I don’t recall how many loads in a electric/hydraulic dump trailer I hauled(at least 30) with 22,000 lbs of rock in the trailer(fines)with a 3/4 T 454 TH 400 Chevy.
One of the worst things about TH 350’s was everybody worked the shit out of them……and never considered changing the filter and fluid.
There was a marked difference in those that were regularly serviced and those that weren’t. You could say the same for most other transmission too…..except for the Slushomatic. I saw countless of them give it up in a brand new trucks that got worked hard.
Mine got a rear seal leak into the TC so I had to keep adding fresh fluid and draining the excess from the TC. I just got tired of the 8-10 mpg and not being able to back up a slope without using low range. I did haul a pretty big load all the way to Alaska. But mostly I was living out in the woods with only one vehicle, so I traded it off on a new one with a four speed (15-18mpg). Unfortunately, I ended up just getting a half ton which I had to sell so that I could buy a real Truck for work purposes. Maybe you had better luck with big loads in the flat lands, but the K-20 automatic was a sick dog even empty in the mountains from day one.
Yeah, MM- I love sticks; hate automatics (But unfortunately, both my current vehicles are autos).
I NEVER hasd any trouble with a TH350 or 400- only in a pick-up I bought in the 90’s that already had the tranny (350) blown by the previous owner when I bought it- I think it cost me $350 to get it rebuilt (I have a feeling they probably just swapped in a used one with a new coat of silver paint, for that price- bnut it was guaranteed- and worked fine, so who cares?)
I think that’s a myth about the sticks being a theft deterrent. On all of these modern cars with chipped keys and all, most of aren’t driven away…they’re towed.
Nunzio,
I don’t have a stick shift car right now, either. I used to have a Mini with a stick but it was cop magnet, so I got rid of it. I couldn’t drive that car without driving it hard; it had that kind of personality.
While I like sticks and the control they give you, they are a ROYAL PITA in traffic-oof! Even with a hydraulically boosted clutch, working a stick in traffic is no fun.
My Focus has paddle shifters, which offer the best of both worlds. When I get out on the local back roads, I can have my fun; when I’m in the city, I can let the tranny do the work… 🙂
AHhh! Mark,
Everyone always complains about sticks in traffic- but I dunno- I always had sticks back in NY- including all of my tow trucks, and never minded. ‘Course, I don’t multitask whilst driving though.
I learnt to drive a stick when young, ’cause I wanted to drive pick-ups…and back then, almost all older P/U’s were sticks…. Now? It’s hard to find a P/U that’s manual.
Next’uns gonna be a stick, no matter what! (And 20-40 years old!)
Nunz, I guess arthritis hasn’t gotten to your clutch leg yet! 🙂
Yeah, Jason- luckily, no arthur-itis [-Fred Sanford] here [yet]…..but my clutching leg does get a little gimpy on my tractor sometimes- but ironically, usually when I’m doing something where I don’t have to work the clutch much. When I use it…no problemo!
Then again, I seem to be ass-backwards in many respects…. 😀
Nunzio, I learned to drive stick shift by watching the school bus drivers. Back then, ALL buses and trucks had manual transmissions. When I got a car with a stick, I just imitated what they did and picked it up in no time… 🙂
Hah! I learned how to REALLY drive a stick shift in my school bus driver training.
**”Nunzio, I learned to drive stick shift by watching the school bus drivers. “***
HAHaha! Ya know, Mark, come to think of it- so did I!
When I was growing up, we didn’t even have a car- but like ya said, ya’d see the school bus driver doing it- and hear the RPMs and everything….ya just learned it by osmosis!
I remember when I was 9 or 10, my friend and I needed a few thousand pounds of pressure on top of something for an experiment we were doing (We read that diamonds were just compressed carbon- and since charcoal was also carbon, we figured we’d compress a briquette and make a diamond)- so I rolled a parked pick-up truck onto the briquette. I knew exactly what to do… Moved the truck safely with no problem, and no one was the wiser. Sadly though, even after a few hours under the wheel on the truck, the briquette nevrer morphed into a diamond! (Stupid encyclopedia! Who writes those damned things?!)
PS. Mark,
But then, later, at driving age, I “really” wanted to learn…to make sure I was doing it right, for when I’d be test-driving prospective pick-up trucks….so I had an 84 year-old man take me out in his Chevette to “teach” me (He was a retiured transit bus driver- from the days when they were msanuasls, too!).
The guy was of absolutely no help- but since I really knew what to do already, just going up and down the road a few times in his Chevette and practicing it, was plenty good enough.
Nunzio,
Can’t fault your logic for making a diamond! As for learning to drive a stick, I simply watched the bus drivers do their thing: when to put in the clutch, lift off the gas, move the gear shift, let out the clutch, and give it the gas again. Learned about using engine compression for descending hills, and could see that lugging the engine wasn’t good. When I got a manual equipped car years later, I just followed their example; soon as I got used to the clutch’s friction zone, I was good to go… 🙂
Mark, I have to thank you for bringing back the memories, re: the school bus shifting!
I often think of childhood memories, but here’s something i hadn’t thought about in decades!
When I’d ride my bike as a kid, I’d often make mental engine sounds- and I’d make them very realistic, according to what kind of “vehicle” I’d imagine I was “driving” that day.
I’d vary the sound, and shift points accordingly! Like, if I was pretending to drive a school bus (They were all gas ones when I went to school) I’d rev up real high in that low first gear….. Or, if I was doing a diesel GM “Fishbowl” transit bus, with a 2-speed automatic, I’d make the appropriate sound, etc.
It was hilarious, now that I think about it- and I never really thought about it before. I knew the different vehicles, with different engines and trannies, and would make the appropriate sounds (Sometinmes out-loud, like when playing with Matchbox cars, and such. Most other kids would just make a uniform generic engine sound- no shifting or anything- much less at the appropriate RPMs….LOL!
I guess you and i were among the more observant!
My friend would be like “waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh……URP!”; and I’d be like “errrrrRRRRRRRRRRRR[pause]VrrrrrrRRRRRR[pause]vmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……mmm.m.m..mm..m..m…m.mmmmm. psssht!”
I’d better stop, I think 8-man is getting a woodrow! 😉
Ditto for the rear-drive Chrysler 3-speed Torqueflite, which was pretty much the gold standard in automatics for decades. Then Chrysler screwed up on their later designs and that’s all she wrote.
Nunzio, Guys thats true – there are good late model cars without it, and im sure there are great cars today that will last forever with some basic care and routine repairs.
But thats why they have cash for clunkers…. where they not only take a car off the road, but ensure every part is completely destroyed never to be re-used……
Hi, Nasir!
Meh, I don’t know about any of these newer cars lasting….at least not here in the US- as they all are so ladened with electronics- for EVERY little thing. Everything is essentially computer-controlled, and is dependent upon modules and separate micro-processors- It makes it not only very difficult to figure out what’s wrong, even when the simplest thing goes wrong (Power window stops working? It’s no longer just mechanical or electrical- but electronic- as it is controlled by microprocessors now- which in-turn interact with another ECU, or the main computer- and involves yards of wiring and scads of connectors.
Just get a bad ground, or a small short in a tiny wire which carries only mililvots of signal current; or a little moisture/rust gets into a connector somewhere….good luck finding the problem. Just the diagnosis could cost a fortune….or replacing of half of the system before the problem is fixed- and that’s just on one little minoir system; imagine when it comes to complex engine controls and emissions and transmission controls, which all interact with each other! Yikes!
Soon, they won’t need Cash-For-Clunkers….’cause that has taken care of most of the better old cars…and these newer ones will find their way to the scrap heap soon enough, without any further help from Uncle, other than the push that he has already given them, by mandating uber-MPGs, and near-zero emissions, and “safety systems” up the gazoo.
It ain’t gonna be pretty, my friend. And that day is just about here- It’s getting darn hard to find a good older vehicle in many places already. Then throw states that have inspections into the mix… 🙁
I can’t get over the newscasters saying “what went wrong?” like a bunch mentally retarded robots! Why do people believe technology is infallible??? Especially the retards who spend their entire career reporting on the constant failures, inadequacies, and fatalities that are the constant consequences thereof?? It reminds me of a 3 year-old who keeps breaking another one of his toys every 5 minutes and then cries to his mommy “why did my toy break” each and every time it happens! Hell, even a 3 year old eventually figures out that shit breaks, so are adults just so mind-fucked that they can’t figure that shit out too? The reporters are just as stupid as the dumb-ass “safety attendant” that wasn’t even paying attention to jack-shit outside as the car rambled down the road, blind as a brick bat! You watch, they will eventually pin the blame on that dumb sap to save their own asses, guaranteed!
gtc,
“I can’t get over the…..”
1.) They think insanity is something OTHER THAN doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
2.) They think law is omnipotent. Like changing the earth’s axis 15 degrees twice a year.
3.) They think the way to solve the problem of Y infringing Z’s rights is to punish A-X. https://youtu.be/5NP8y63Ms4o
This is really a no-win situation- even if the plaintiff wins….
On the one hand: Since goobermint has abrogated to itself the “right” to regulate the roads and us, in the name of “saaaaaafety”, it truly is responsible….
But further cementing that idea, in a situation like this, would essentially give Uncle even more of a mandate/excuse to control us and everything that impacts the roads even MORE than it already does.
I mean, I hope the plaintiff does win….but it’s only going to add more fuel to the fire of Uncle’s control over us, ultimately. All things seem to lead to further erosion of liberty, and more tyranny. Had Uncle not established itself as the controller of the public way, then one would merely sue the negligent party(s) and be done with it- but Uncle has assumed this liability….and ultimately, WE end up paying- financially (’cause Uncle has no money, except what he takes from us) and by being even more thoroughly scrutinized and harassed, for fear that our behavior may further incur liability to Uncle since “He let us ujse the public way”.
What happens when AI vehicles are faced with a double bind situation. A school bus or family car is on your left and a deer or dog is coming to your lane on the right and you dont have the space to stop. What does the AI do? A human knows instinctively what to do, does a cold unfeeling robot know?
The damned thing would probably hit the dog! Machines truly have no feelings!
Well, I’d rather they figure out how to not hit people on clear dry roads under ideal conditions. Then we’ll ask that question.
And it isn’t exactly clear what humans “instinctively” know to do in your scenereo, at least without a few more details, such as if there’s any oncoming traffic, because maybe the correct course of action is to cross the yellow line, but I’d bet cash money the majority of drivers wouldn’t consider it.
Hi RK,
One of the many reasons I object to all of this is the systematic taking away of our control over life and death decisions – and decisions generally. Which is degrading and demoralizing in equal degree. We are being treated as presumptively idiotic children by an arrogant technocracy of government and corporate busybodies and control freaks.
As Seinfeld used to say: Who are these people? And how did they acquire all this power?
Side effect of specialization. And Ralph Nader. And the 1/2 of the population who’s IQ is below 100.
Specialization means it becomes harder to understand complex systems because it is in “everyone’s” best interest to keep what they do secret. Job security, if you know how easy their job is it might be due for elimination.
Ralph Nader: Right place at the right time. Madison Ave was working on counterculture marketing and GM was an easy target. By promoting Nader’s book and GM’s horrible response it set up self-appointed watchdogs that no one asked for. Gave an entire group of would-be Communists something to do too. Note that these guys are pretty will done with the rise of online communities.
IQ: Well, what needs to be said? Intelligent politicians see themselves as Shepherds or demigods who are benevolent at best. The stupid ones see themselves as Batman, forcing the world to “make sense.” With the trend in the Ivy Leagues to buy your kid’s way in, the elites aren’t any brighter than the rest of us, and likely less so because they never had to stress their minds.
Umm…RK…watch a few dozen Russian driving videos. That is Exactly what 80% of them do to avoid rear ending someone…they swerve straight into oncoming traffic killing or maiming nearly everyone, including themselves. Frankly, most Russian traffic looks like a suicidal free-for-all. Here in the states, most everyone will opt for the shoulder or the ditch, but the rest of the driving world seems to really have no clue whatsoever, lol! I do not believe a species, even human, can “instinctually” operate a man-made machine, driving is a totally “learned” behavior. Fight or Flight is instinct, but not driving, lol!
Self-selection bias. If nothing bad happens the dash cam footage wouldn’t be posted. Actually the main issue with watching the world through the lens of electronic and mainstream media in general.
I was implying, in a choice of plowing your car into children or a stray dog or deer, that most humans would hit the dog. But yes, going over the yellow line would be correct for a human, but what would AI choose?
Eric,
Though I agree with your sentiment, i.e. gov’t bureaucrats overseeing autonomous car technology should be held accountable, I wouldn’t look for it to happen. I mean, the fox is guarding the hen house here…
Hi Mark,
Agreed. My critiques of EVs are not of EVs as such but rather what EVs are being used to achieve. I am convinced that the mandates and subsidies exist for the sake of imposing EVs, in order to control us even more than we already are controlled.
You may be on to something. I responded to Jason Flinders and told him about someone you need to check out: Peggy Liu. Look for her on YouTube; there are a lot of videos of her. No better a shill for the sustainability and the Chicoms will you find…
Never have understood people. If I take a long trip the last thing I want is to turn on autopilot and go to sleep. Personally, even at my advanced age I prefer a motorcycle… fall asleep on it at your peril! If you just want to miss all the fun and sights,,, take a train. It is limited to the tracks and speed so you can sleep all you want.
Mr. Digital can only handle what its been programmed to. Today’s AI is just advanced line by line programming,,, not much different then 20 years ago. Any new situation arises, it doesn’t have a clue. It should be restricted to games . As a pilot I have flown with Auto Pilot. You dial in the heading and set altitude, then watch, The airways are extremely controlled unlike the roadways so Mr. Digital can handle it easily. No right turns, left turns, S curves etc. Your usually above the weather and its CAVU all the way. On the ground your dealing with hundreds of different people, with hundreds of different destinations. A lady passing up a store with a sale sign is liable to lock it up trying to get in there.
There is NO COMPARISON to flying or taking a train. Thousands of different decisions being made on the fly by drivers and no way can silicon keep up, at least as of today…. and hopefully forever.
An interesting observation I have made during my life is everyone accuses everyone else of not being good drivers. I followed a woman that almost caused two accidents. She happened to be a fellow student in a class I was taking. Boy was she cussing all of us ‘bad drivers’. When I told her I was behind her and observed what really went on she shut up.
And finally, as a avid motorcyclist I am pure road kill to Mr. Digital if it makes the wrong decision. No second chances for me or my wife. No seat belts, air bags etc. Just another egg that needed to be cracked,,,, dead.
There ought to be some sort of warning (flashing lights, etc) on a vehicle running on autopilot so us victims can stay the hell away!
Two wheeled transportation, both bicycle and motorcycle, is likely to be eliminated through the pincers of automation and government medical care.
Hi Brent,
Indeed. My fear as well. Both will be declared “too risky” … “… can’t allow people to place themselves in harm’s way when those harms they suffer impose costs on us all… ”
Wanna bet?
…Uncle would remain remote – like the demi-urge of Gnosticism.
That line alone is worth the $10/month subscription! Hell, if you wrote that on a mainstream automotive site you’d get sent to the editor’s office for a talking-to about dumbing it down so your readers don’t feel stupid.
I’ve been following this very closely as it touches a lot of different topics I’m interested in. And I really do want to see an effective autopilot-like system made available for vehicles, especially when on a long distance trip because it will reduce driver fatigue and eventually errors. And I think for short distance delivery fully autonomous vehicles could reduce cost and make it easier to live out in the sticks. But it isn’t anywhere near ready for primetime. Unfortunately the humans running the DOT don’t have the computer science background and knowledge to know what they don’t know. And Silicon Valley seems to be taking an “all at once” approach instead of building on incremental gains. Who the hell knows what Detroit is up to? A few years ago I watched as a CNBC reporter ride from somewhere in California (Needles?) to Vegas for CES in an Audi A7 that drove itself. The road was dry and all highway and it seemed to do OK from what they showed us. There are long stretches of highway without much traffic that would be perfect for an autopilot. But drivers would need to be trained to use it, much like pilots are trained to use an autopilot system on aircraft. And the ultimate responsibly would have to be clearly put on the driver using it, who should be ready to disengage it at any moment’s notice. So it would probably be fine in Germany, where drivers are actually trained. But no way does it make sense in the US, where driver’s licenses are more for national ID than proving you can properly operate a vehicle.
On another site I found people saying “you have to break eggs to make an omelet” with regard to the deaths and property damage from these systems. That it’s all acceptable to achieve the goal. It says everything that we need to know.
Hi Brent,
Yup; ends justify the means The ends decided upon by people we never met, who see us as either impediments or grist for their mills.
Funny that someone said that, since the prime reason given for this technology is to reduce the number of fatalities on the highways.
Of course the expectation of the people saying that is that THEY will not be among the broken eggs. Many if not most of them are going to be in for a nasty surprise.
Very good article. Thanks!
Thanks for the kind words, Mark!