Commentary

Autonomous Vehicles Vs. Human Drivers

Self-driving cars and human-driven cars don’t yet totally get along.

Autonomous vehicles tend to have rules, which they meticulously follow, as any computer might. Humans also have rules for driving, but not are always precisely followed, since the drivers are, well, human.

A recent accident report filing with the California DMV cites a case of one of Apple’s self-driving cars being hit by a human-driven car. The report states that there were no injuries, with “moderate” damage to the self-driving Apple Lexus RX 450H.

The Apple test vehicle was operating in autonomous mode, preparing to merge onto an expressway. The Lexus was traveling at less than one mile an hour, waiting for a safe gap to merge, when a 2016 Nissan Leaf “contacted” the Apple test vehicle at approximately 15 mph, according to the DMV report.

This minor accident is hardly the only one between self-driving and human-driven vehicles.  

There are 55 companies with self-driving car test permits in California and 54 new accidents occurred in the last year, based on filings of incident reports in the state, according to a new study by Axios.

Of 38 accidents when a car was moving and operating in self-driving mode, Axios found that humans, not the autonomous vehicles, were determined to be at fault in 37 of the 38 accidents.

The challenge for autonomous vehicles is not so much teaching the cars how to identify objects around them and safely navigate roads, but rather having them learn how to deal with human drivers.

3 comments about "Autonomous Vehicles Vs. Human Drivers".
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  1. John Haake from Gotham Advisory, LLC, September 4, 2018 at 3:06 p.m.

    Chuck, Autonomous Vehicles Vs. Human Drivers is an interesting discussion, but I think everyone is resolved that driverless vehicles are indeed the future. The real discussion is "smart cars or smart pavement?" If Elon Musk is to be believed, the cars will have the brains, which is why Teslas have a long road ahead before their price tags approach the budgets of the average driver. What if the tech needed for driverless vehicles were housed in the road itself? The cost would be distributed across all drivers, therefore, making more it economically feasible for the tech to go mainstream.  Companies like Integrated Roadways.com are beginning to run test projects to prove out the concept. http://integratedroadways.com/#News

  2. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin replied, September 4, 2018 at 6 p.m.

    In-road tech is yet another in a list of numerous approaches to automomous vehicles, John. economics will be a key in all of these.

  3. R MARK REASBECK from www.USAonly.US , September 4, 2018 at 9:27 p.m.

    "......but I think everyone is resolved that driverless vehicles are indeed the future."



    NOT ME.............John, or anyone else I know.  You are correct on what I've been grandstanding.  NO ONE ever puts a price tag on what it adds to a car.  It's like solar panels.  Good for the enviornment?   Very Much Yes.  Efficiect?  Most of the time.  Affordable?   NO>  when a home owner is told it's a $25,000 investment , and the return is 20 years down the road, the Efficiency and the Good for the Enviornment goes out the window because it's UNaffordable.   That's why the only activity you see for selling these
    car-bots is the Uber transportation people, they don't care what they pay for it, they just want it.

    Back to the article, and how "rigid" the rules are for self driver cars.  They are missing one element the human brings , "Road savvvvvvy".  You know how when you ty to text slang and your phone auto corrects to a completely different word?   That's the equivalent of Road Savy.  We just know the feel of the road, the car, the conditions, and experience of miles behind the wheel.  Another way, it's like programing a robot to make love, the function is there...........................but  No Savy.
    Technology in the road???  Are you serious?? we can't even get pot-holes fixed and you want "smart roads'??  So when you run out of pavement, how will the car run.  Or maybe only good for "Toll roads" then when you exit, better grab the wheel, if there is one.
    Why can't people see the collateral nightmares they are creating?>??
    "DUMBEST IDEA OF THE 21st CENTURY"   My Motto

    NOT to mention.....................how boring travel will be

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