Already better than at least 25% of New England drivers, though.

So interesting to me that software can pilot a spaceship to Mars and autonomously direct a rover on the surface of Mars, but can't reliably get a truck back and forth. Even out in the desert, driving just takes a shitton of observation and judgment we apes do almost unconsciously.

Still, depends how big a "corner" we're talking about. I could see a lot of driving being automated away over, say, 20 years.

One challenge is the signaling that drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and other street users give and receive from one another. And here signalling isn't even consciously done. For instance, if you're going to make an unprotected left turn, you might creep your car into the intersection, and continue to inch forward narrowing the space between your car and the opposing, oncoming lane. This signals to drivers oncoming that you're going to turn or are close to turning and they'll at times read your signal and slowdown and yield. Other times, oncoming drivers will counter signal to show that they're not yielding. Pedestrians and drivers will often wave at each to indicate that one should go or that one is yielding. Picking up on all these signals and correctly interpreting them is hugely complicated, because the signals rely on a large set of background knowledge and customs and contextual features.

My guess is that we'll start seeing more self-driving cars, when *their* behavior is predictable and well enough known so that people just accommodate them, not the other way around. Like if you know that a self-driving car may a left turn in front of you if it calculates that it can make it but that it also will stop mid turn right in front of you if you speed up to prevent the turn, you'll just not speed up in order to avoid a crash, and then the self-driving car can just turn.

I duno. Just some conjecture.

I just look forward to the day that self driving bicycles can phase out their human riders.

I hope this car doesn't try to "waive me through" when I'm on my bicycle and THEY HAVE RIGHT OF WAY and there are MULTIPLE LANES OF TRAFFIC and then they get impatient AT ME because I didn't fucking dive into traffic after their gracious gesture!

I drive as little as possible. I walk and ride my bicycle everywhere. I was hoping that gas prices would get high enough that people would actually drive less. I'm somewhat annoyed at goddamn electric cars because it'll mean more people drive because they'll think they aren't destroying the environment doing so (regardless of power generation source, car manufacturing, road construction), but it'll just be an illusion and in the meantime actually moving without a motor is gonna stay shitty. Man I hate cars.

I hope that these self-driving ones become ambulant surveillance cameras so you can follow up on near-death incidents and actually punish the drivers instead of just shaking your fist at their receding tailgate. I'm all for privacy but your car movements on public roads shouldn't be covered by that. Fuck reckless and dangerous drivers, including the ones who think they are good drivers. We're all terrible drivers because driving is terrible.

Anyways that's my rant I hope you like it.

You can have my car after you relocate my job to within biking distance. Not everyone has your privileges.

Agreed. I'm working on it. Definitely reconfiguring cities (& the nature of work) is an essential ingredient. Can't just have bike lanes for effete metros to get lattes.

Oh also if everyone who has the privilege of having the choice to walk or bike (or take decent public transit) to get around actually USED that privilege, then everyone would be better off. The people who genuinely can't get around without driving would have less traffic, easier parking, better air quality, etc. And in the longer run it would normalize non-driving and extend the privilege enough that being able to not drive would no longer be thought of as a privilege.

The above paragraph isn't a criticism of any particular people, I have no idea what your situation is. Walk, bike, bus when it works, and argue to make it work, but don't sacrifice your quality of life for my ideals.

I have a car because I need it for my commute. I still take care to give bicycles and pedestrians all the space and consideration I can. Maybe that cyclist is more ‘privileged’ than me, maybe not; I don’t see how that’s at all relevant when it comes to road safety.

I drive a Humvee and don't even brake for red lights. Ludacris' Move Bitch is my theme music.

On the subject of automated cars, I see highway driving, even trucking, being a fairly realistic goal over the next 10-20 years. I had a rental car last year that was fully tricked out with the cruise control that would automatically speed up and slow down if there was traffic in front of me, and even stopped and creeped the car along in a traffic jam, as well as the automatic lane assist that kept the car in its own lane including taking sharp curves. Overall, the car basically already drove itself. It chirped at me to keep my hands on the wheel, but for 8+ hours I barely drove.

I could plausibly see trucks driving to stations on the interstate between source and destination, and then actual drivers getting in to navigate populated areas to finish a delivery. I would probably appreciate that if they're programmed to slow down in inclement weather, unlike current truck drivers who will bomb by you doing 90mph in a snow storm practically blowing your car off the road because, hey, they have traction and weigh 30,000lbs *HONK* *HOOOOONK* *VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

I'm on board with that Rafiki, but I can't help but wonder why we don't use more trains for the real long-distance stuff. (I don't wonder much, it's obviously because trains are communists and trucks are American.)

In the Shadowrun universe the inter-city highways are crazy dangerous because of the huge automated road trains that ply them. They have awesome spiked cowcatchers on the front and maybe gun turrets too. I hear Australia is already halfway there.