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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2013 11:33 
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There's an interesting article here about the future of driverless cars - could they transform the entire transport landscape?

HS2 is already obsolete, David Cameron should be preparing the UK for self-driving cars

My personal view is that this is somewhat disturbing as it is putting a large part of our lives under the control of "The Machine". However I accept in some circumstances it could be useful.

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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 09:03 
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I have the same reservations Peter. I’ve no doubt it’s just a case of when, not if, they become commonplace. I’d be sad to see the end of being in control but there’s so much idiotic behaviour and KSI, I fear it has to be the only way forward. Just a thought, but how would this ever work with a motorbike? I did hear a friend talking about something which used a gyroscope, so it resisted being physically pushed over. (Something like that).

I see the sun has brought the maniacs out over my way; hacking down side roads at insane speeds. :furious: As always, it’s not their breaking the limit in itself which angers me but where they are breaking it. Oh well, so long as they catch the ones going over a newly changed dumbed down limit on a previously NSL which brings in lots of money for the Gov that’s okay then. :banghead:

The way I see it, I’m glad to have lived, (was born), at a time where I have had the pleasure of motoring in an era of freedom and armed with the common sense and skill not to have hurt myself or others. I consider myself lucky not to have been ‘taken out’ by some maniac. (Yet :roll: ).

The next generation will be more protected or mollycoddled in a foolproof world than ever before. I hope I’m wrong but while this sounds like a good thing I’m sure there will be negative consequences; I’m just not sure what they will be.

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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 09:50 
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Big Tone wrote:
Just a thought, but how would this ever work with a motorbike?

You sometimes get the impression that the powers-that-be would not be unhappy if motorcycling could be totally eliminated :x

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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 10:42 
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PeterE wrote:
Big Tone wrote:
Just a thought, but how would this ever work with a motorbike?

You sometimes get the impression that the powers-that-be would not be unhappy if motorcycling could be totally eliminated :x
That would have me leaving this country in a heartbeat! Having just come back from France, did I mention that? :D , they enjoy freedom and non interference in a way we dont.

Some may say or accuse "France does what the French want and stick two fingers up to the rest of Europe". But one could argue what's wrong with that; it's called a backbone. :roll: The trouble with mumbling Brits is we don't stick up for ourselves.

Slight topic drift soz but when I was over there I asked my friend if he'd noticed something/anything about their transport. He said no he hadn't, until I pointed out around 7 out of 10 cars we saw were French. If it wasn't a Citroën, Renault or Peugeot it was usually German.

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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 14:31 
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Well if they DO introduce self-driving cars, I hope the little %$^&%^& who nearly took me out last night buys one! There I was traveling the NSL SC back from Carlisle to my place, get to a straight bit and pull out to overtake the truck and the mini following it. About 1/3 of the way past the Mini, he thought he'd overtake the truck too...

Needless to say, I muttered a few expletives, and aborted the overtake in double-quick time, but I noticed that he seemed absolutely and utterly oblivious to what was going on behind him AND seemed to have something against using indicators. I followed him for some miles (after I'd got past the truck) and I don't think he checked his mirror ONCE. When he eventually turned off down a side road, he didn't indicate either....

Anyway, I digress. Having vented sufficient spleen, back to the topic...

I have no doubt it will come. I have no doubt that such cars will generally enjoy a lower accident rate. There WILL, however, be occasional "freak" situations where they won't be better (just like there are odd occasions when not wearing a seat belt or crash helmet is safer). I think the main problems that remain to be overcome are now legal rather than technical. My biggest fear is not that they will become available, but that after a while, they will gradually be FORCED upon us - first by "carrot" (cheaper insurance etc), and then by "stick" (more expensive insurance, possibly followed by restrictions on use (e.g. time of day, number of passengers etc) for people who persist in driving their own and taking responsibility for their own decisions / actions (yeah, quaint concept eh?!).

Another fear is what it will do to the cost of motoring. Already, we've seen the next "hammer blow on the wedge", with various warning lights now becoming MOT fails. That's just "simple" stuff like ESC or ABS. I think we'll end up with an almost "aerospace" level of maintenance required - probably forcing us to cough up "main stealer" prices and DIY maintenance will become a thing of the past, pricing many of us off the road.


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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 15:48 
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You all have it wrong. The self-driving car is not seen as the future by politicians. They see the bicycle as the future. Just look at all the money being thrown at "superhighways" in London.

Society seem to have peaked a few years back for the West.

Societies start in poverty with people walking and riding horses. They progress with time to bicycles and, with increased prosperity, to cars which are the aspiration of all developing peoples. We are now on the downward slope to poverty again with a return to bicycles. Pretty soon , someone will discover a reason why bikes are bad (too much heavy breathing expelling CO2?) and they too will be banned.

I'm off to knap some flints to make an axe.

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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 18:21 
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malcolmw wrote:
Societies start in poverty with people walking and riding horses. They progress with time to bicycles and, with increased prosperity, to cars


There is a bit of a fallacy there. Impoverished people do not keep horses. Keeping a horse cost considerably more than keeping a bicycle. And keeping sufficient horses for all your transport would cost more than running a luxury car. So, by your argument, increasing from poverty to wealth would see lots of coaches and six on the roads. :-)

On the substantive point: I suspect that liability and insurance could be show stoppers for automatic roads. Would the road operator have to accept liability for accidents caused by equipment malfunction. Could they get cover against the maximum credible accident?

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