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Robot cars say "Don't blame us for the accidents!"

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Robert Holt, May 12, 2015.

  1. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Translating from commentary in German, the representative of the Google robotic car fleet of 20 vehicles said that although they had accumulated a total of 11 accidents in 1,600,000 kilometers of totally robotic operation, they were all fender- benders and no one was injured. Furthermore, he claimed that in NONE of the 11 cases was the robotic car at fault!
    (7 times someone simply ran into the Google car, 3 times I think he said the car was side-swiped, and not sure about the other.)

    From this information I, for one, have stopped worrying about the advent of self-driving cars because if the above claims are accurate, they are a LOT better than the typical human!!
    (Of course, those might be just teen-aged robots making excuses for their accidents, but otherwise these data are quite reassuring.)
     
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the fact that they are even on the road is enough to qualify them for partial fault.
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yup. The territorial imperative is alive and well, on the roads. Self-driving cars can't happen soon enough. In the interim, I pretend I'm driving one, sometimes.

    Just a thought: what if a couple of Google cars collide? I think that's a case in point, not a chance it would happen.
     
  4. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Germans strongly believe in fault, especially if it is yours rather than theirs, so that comment was made seriously as far as I could tell.
    He also said the robot cars are programmed to pause before starting off when a stoplight shifts to green, and that had reportedly avoided some accidents from red-light-runners on the cross streets. But can you imagine the honking that will cause in typical city traffic in the USA?
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    absolutely could and will happen. didn't you read jurassic park?
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    'Round here folks turning left on green arrow tend to play follow the leader 'till the cows come home, herd mentaility I guess. You can get a green light, but good luck: the parade is still going. ;(
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  8. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Google sues itself?
    At least Google has enough money to pay itself damages!
    You could also take away the robot's driving privilege for a week or two. Tough love and all that works for teenagers, so maybe it will work for these robots.
    "#5 is alive!"
    Seriously, I've met bus drivers with over a million miles accident free, but they are rare and probably should be studied for good driving habits.
    My hat's off to the Google robot car programmers, though.
     
  9. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Maybe that is why they built in the green light acceleration delay period .
    I wonder what other rules are in that control system?
     
  10. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    How about Westworld.
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i robot.
     
  12. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    The article I read said it was 1,700,000 miles, not kilometers.
     
  13. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you got me.(n) gog me?
     
  15. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Sci Fi movie from 1954 about robots running amok.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds good, i wonder if it's available. hmm, i was born in '54, i wonder if there's some significance.:cool:
     
  17. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    The link's not in my post #13?
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the whole movie, cool, thanks! where did you come up with that, have you seen it?
     
  19. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    I grew up on those movies. :D
     
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  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i guess my childhood was lacking.:(