Well, that doesn’t happen every day:
Europe demands driverless cars be driveable
…Both BMW and Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes-Benz, have been working on autonomous vehicle concepts for years, such as BMW’s self-driving 5 Series.
However, spokespersons for both companies have admitted to Wired.co.uk that marketable products in this category are a long way off. The reason? Simply put, it’s because the legal framework that would enable the sale of such vehicles is more or less absent.
But the proposed lack of control by the passengers is a legitimate worry, I’d say. I’m not a fan of over-thinking government’s role in our daily lives – certainly not at the level that Europe routinely indulges in – but I think that it’s reasonable to have a steering wheel in the dang car. Because, you know, absent an actual brain in the glove compartment it’s inevitably going to happen that the computer program ‘driving’ the car is going to get input that it can’t process. It’d be nice to have the ability to set things right at that point.
Moe Lane
Via Instapundit.
So, what happens when due to blackout, solar flare, mischief, or human error, the system’s reference points go away or get shifted?
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My address is literally township and range. Since that’s the way most of the country was surveyed, you’d think computer map services would have no problem processing it. You’d be wrong. There are few surer indications that I’m about to waste an afternoon than hearing, “You don’t need to give me directions. I have GPS!”
But I’m supposed to believe that the same tech is going to reliably hit my driveway +/- 1 ft?
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Of course, there are other factors. People speed. Driverless cars won’t. But they’re sharing the same infrastructure. Sure, that’ll work smoothly.
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Not to mention that people like having control. Everyone knows that flying is safer than driving. The statistic has been beaten into the head of darn near everybody. But most people still have a degree of trepidation about flying, simply because it means putting their fate in the hands of a stranger. (Who will at least die with you if he messes up.) Now, let’s remove the personnel, and replace them with an electronic box. Notify the passengers of the change. See how many are killed in the stampede, and add them to the “aircraft fatalities” column.