Google says people driving their own cars is on the way out

[CHamilton]

Speaking as a non-driver, I can relate to this.

Google Thinks That In 100 Years, People Will Marvel That We Ever Allowed Humans To Drive

Google held its annual shareholders meeting on Thursday...
Schmidt also took the time to talk up the [self-driving] cars. He told the crowd, “In a hundred years time, I wonder, and I really do wonder, whether people will marvel that we allowed humans to drive cars.”
“The potential to reduce accidents, to cut congestion, to get rid of a lot of wasted parking lots,” he added. “And the mobility self-driving cars will bring to people with impaired mobility will be life changing.”
Schmidt then proceeded to show the crowd the classic video where a Google car drives a blind man to Taco Bell.

 

[jis]

Hey! That looks like my previous (pre-2010) Prius! Different color though.

 

[Ryan]

Eh, Google also said "Don't be evil." and then announced plans to shut down Google Reader.

 

[DET63]

Google Thinks That In 100 Years, People Will Marvel That We Ever Allowed Humans To Drive

What a load of rubbish. There are literally tens of thousands of miles of roads in remote areas that are not precisely mapped by Google where human control of vehicles is and will be the only way that they can be used. In fact, these little-used roads still make up the vast majority of the road network in North America and elsewhere, even if they are infrequently traveled.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Yup, I live on one of those roads... Google can't fiund my house address, only the junction at the end of the road, ha, ha!

 

[CHamilton]

The point about rural roads is well-taken, but keep in mind that 100 years is a long time by technological standards. Consider what travel was like in 1913. By 2113, maybe we'll have a big train network on the ground, and when you get to your local train station, you'll take your self-flying vehicle out of your briefcase and fly home. That sure would reduce infrastructure costs.

 

[Texan Eagle]

Living in the Bay Area, I have seen these self-driving cars on the road a couple of times and they seem to be going good. Last month I was "stuck" behind a Google Self Driving car on I-280 since it would just not go faster than 65 on freeway with speed limit 65, while others kept going at 70 or more :giggle:

 

[jis]

It would probably be a good idea for a blind person who depends on self-driven cars to avoid living on rural uncharted roads.

BTW, a small part of the self driving stuff is available on current cars ... the radar assisted cruise control, and I love it! You set the speed for cruise control at say 10 or 15 mph above the speed limit and the distance to the next car to three car lengths or something like that and then just slide in behind a car that is doing about the speed that you want, and let the car take care of keeping the distance and speed aligned with that of the car ahead. It's great and it is available today on many cars including in my 2010 Prius with Advanced Technology Package!

As far as sticking to 65 goes, if you are in Florida you can watch the same phenomenon with senior members of our society at the wheels doing 45 mph in the left lane of a highway with a speed limit of 70mph. A rather common sight unfortunately.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Hey! I resemble that remark! Actually, I try to allow enough time to get somewhere that I don't have to speed (well, maybe just a little from time to time...). I drive on 55 mph limit roads (no freeways here in the back-of-beyond), and I find that tootling along at 45-55 gives me maximum fuel efficiency. I try to practice the "I'm just not in a hurry" mantra if I get behind someone going a little slower than I might want to, because passing is one of the most dangerous moves you can make behind the wheel (second only to left turns, if I remember from my AARP safe driving class). So, between safety and fuel efficiency, it really is better to be "not in a hurry." Hey, sounds like the previous sentence includes three of the primary reasons I ride the train (in addition to the fact that it's just so much fun!). :giggle:

 

[Bob Dylan]

It would probably be a good idea for a blind person who depends on self-driven cars to avoid living on rural uncharted roads.
BTW, a small part of the self driving stuff is available on current cars ... the radar assisted cruise control, and I love it! You set the speed for cruise control at say 10 or 15 mph above the speed limit and the distance to the next car to three car lengths or something like that and then just slide in behind a car that is doing about the speed that you want, and let the car take care of keeping the distance and speed aligned with that of the car ahead. It's great and it is available today on many cars including in my 2010 Prius with Advanced Technology Package!

As far as sticking to 65 goes, if you are in Florida you can watch the same phenomenon with senior members of our society at the wheels doing 45 mph in the left lane of a highway with a speed limit of 70mph. A rather common sight unfortunately.

^_^ good stuff jis! Every State has the driving 45 in the Passing Lane Seniors, Texas leads the World!

As to Drafting/Mixing with other Traffic, Nascar Race Cars do this @ 200mph and when they have Wrecks the Drivers Walk Away! Maybe we need some of that Technology in our Road Cars! :help:

 

[Bob Dylan]

Hey! I resemble that remark! Actually, I try to allow enough time to get somewhere that I don't have to speed (well, maybe just a little from time to time...). I drive on 55 mph limit roads (no freeways here in the back-of-beyond), and I find that tootling along at 45-55 gives me maximum fuel efficiency. I try to practice the "I'm just not in a hurry" mantra if I get behind someone going a little slower than I might want to, because passing is one of the most dangerous moves you can make behind the wheel (second only to left turns, if I remember from my AARP safe driving class). So, between safety and fuel efficiency, it really is better to be "not in a hurry." Hey, sounds like the previous sentence includes three of the primary reasons I ride the train (in addition to the fact that it's just so much fun!). :giggle:

Well said!

 

[the_traveler]

Yup, I live on one of those roads... Google can't fiund my house address, only the junction at the end of the road, ha, ha!

I can barely find my apartment from the Post Office - and my bedroom shares a wall with the Post Office (in the same building)!

 

[railiner]

I'll make a prediction....in about thirty years or so, not only will self-driving cars be a requirement on certain heavily travelled freeways or tollways, but in addition, reservations will also be required for peak travel times, with the possibility of 'standby' acceptance.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I'll make a prediction too (not necessarily contrary to the preceeding prediction): in about thirty years or so, lquid fuel will be so expensive that cars the size we drive today will be museum pieces. Cars of the future will be much more compact, they will be fueled primarily by electricity, and most people will use updated public transit (including trains!) to go longer distances. But traveling will be even more of a luxury than it is now, and people will be more concerned with the basics like food and shelter, than with getting somewhere fast and seeing new sights.

This is what I do: www.solwest.org

 

[railiner]

I'll make a prediction too (not necessarily contrary to the preceeding prediction): in about thirty years or so, lquid fuel will be so expensive that cars the size we drive today will be museum pieces. Cars of the future will be much more compact, they will be fueled primarily by electricity, and most people will use updated public transit (including trains!) to go longer distances. But traveling will be even more of a luxury than it is now, and people will be more concerned with the basics like food and shelter, than with getting somewhere fast and seeing new sights.
This is what I do: www.solwest.org

Kind of makes you glad that you had a chance to enjoy the pleasure of motoring thru the 'wide-open' roads that you can still find today in many places....

 

[DET63]

As far as sticking to 65 goes, if you are in Florida you can watch the same phenomenon with senior members of our society at the wheels doing 45 mph in the left lane of a highway with a speed limit of 70mph. A rather common sight unfortunately.

And with the left blinker left on for miles and miles?

 

[California Starlight]

As far as sticking to 65 goes, if you are in Florida you can watch the same phenomenon with senior members of our society at the wheels doing 45 mph in the left lane of a highway with a speed limit of 70mph. A rather common sight unfortunately.

And with the left blinker left on for miles and miles?

And then suddenly turning right, with the left blinker still on.

Not in Florida, but living in Bay Area I see enough and more of such drivers. Those damn Priuses (Priui, what's more than one Prius called? :help: ) driving at 55 in left lane when rest of the traffic is going 70

 

[The Davy Crockett]

As far as sticking to 65 goes, if you are in Florida you can watch the same phenomenon with senior members of our society at the wheels doing 45 mph in the left lane of a highway with a speed limit of 70mph. A rather common sight unfortunately.

And with the left blinker left on for miles and miles?

And then suddenly turning right, with the left blinker still on.

Bumper Sticker in Florida:

When I get old I'm going to move north and drive slow

 

[JayPea]

When John Glenn, at age 77, was one of the astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, radio personality Don Imus said he had visions of Glenn orbiting the Earth at 10 mph with his left blinker on. :lol:

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

I believe if the human race survives the next hundred years that we will wonder why we ever thought all these steel gas guzzling polluting machines to everybody was a good idea...

 

[CHamilton]

Meanwhile, American trains haven't made much progress in the last century.

On this day in railroad history: 1905 - Pennsylvania Railroad's Pennsylvania Special (which later became the Broadway Limited) sets speed record of 127.2 MPH.

 

[Anderson]

If I had to guess, over the next 30-50 years we're going to see a shift towards "dual mode" self-driving cars: Those capable of driving themselves, but which have a "human mode" to deal with anything from a GPS malfunction (say, bad weather messing up a satellite link) to wanting to go slightly off-road (parking by the side of a highway, navigating parking lots, etc.). At that point, I think you'll reach the limits of the system (since I can see a parking situation where the car gets into a "stalemate" because of other cars, shopping carts, etc. not giving it a legal path)...and likewise, you'll probably still want/need to back out of your driveway.

As to methods of powering them...what is to say that we're not going to end up with "larger" electric cars with trunkloads of battery units in lieu of smaller cars with less units?

 

[railiner]

If I had to guess, over the next 30-50 years we're going to see a shift towards "dual mode" self-driving cars: Those capable of driving themselves, but which have a "human mode" to deal with anything from a GPS malfunction (say, bad weather messing up a satellite link) to wanting to go slightly off-road (parking by the side of a highway, navigating parking lots, etc.). At that point, I think you'll reach the limits of the system (since I can see a parking situation where the car gets into a "stalemate" because of other cars, shopping carts, etc. not giving it a legal path)...and likewise, you'll probably still want/need to back out of your driveway.
As to methods of powering them...what is to say that we're not going to end up with "larger" electric cars with trunkloads of battery units in lieu of smaller cars with less units?

'Dual-Mode' is what I was thinking.....Automated for use on 'smart highways', and manual for use on regular roads. As time goes by, probably more and more automated roadways....