GM Announces Autonomously Driven Car

[sanddrag]

I think this is horrible. As if driving wasn't easy enough already, now the "driver" doesn't have to do anything at all. I drive 75 miles every day 5 days a week and I encounter more than my fair share of IDIOTS along the way. I've had giant trucks and busses in the fast lane and carpool lane, I've had people on cell phones, people smoking, people eating, people doing all three. People running stop signs, people swerving out of their lanes. People cutting me off, people switching lanes without signaling or looking, people going so slow that they hold up traffic for miles behind them, and the list goes on.

People cannot drive. It is a fact of life. I have seen such poor quality of driving on a day to day basis that it is truly astonishing that more accidents don't occur.

So, people cannot drive. Let's not go out and teach them how, let's have a computer to it for them!?!?!? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. How are people ever supposed to become better drivers if there isn't some challenge in it?

Or how about this, now that the car does all the driving, it is okay to load up on alcohol first because you don't have any part in the driving process??? Lets do that.

Or what about this: What happens when this car malfunctions and kills someone? It used to be easy after motor vehicle killed someone. The driver would get prosecuted criminally for manslaughter and go to prison and get sued civilly and have top pay damages. But what now? There is no driver to be at fault. I don't think the GM engineers will be going to prison. Suing a big company is harder/more costly than an individual, and it will take much longer too.

At times I wish there was no such thing as the automatic transmission. If people were forced to develop some coordination and concentration skills while driving, it would lead to a much better quality of driving.

Driving training and retraining programs permit/license testing and retesting, are already insufficient. People whip through training/education, get their license, then break all the laws and crash. Because they aren't really good drivers; they were just good enough to pass.

So, instead of making it easier for people to drive, let's better educate and train them to face the challenge of manual control.

It's like, how lazy have we gotten if you aren't even willing to turn a steering wheel a few degrees? Pathetic if you ask me.

There are some things that computerized systems should never take control of. A computer can never replace a well trained driver and it is certainly not the solution to aid the bad drivers.

[NoodleKnight]

I have to agree with sanddrag, even though it is real neat that they've gotten cars to drive autonomously; having a computer-driven robot means a lot of new possibilities, and not all are good. In addition to the things sanddrag said above, now you've given just about everyone the ability to drive, that means those who really shouldn't be driving (like really young kids that get hyped up about racing after playing one too many video games) the ability to drive. Sure you could say that the car will be full-auto pilot and not let anyone influence the car's driving, but I just have a gut feeling that making driving even easier than it is currently, is not a good thing.

As if we need more lazy drivers =P, again like sanddrag said. In fact, today while driving home (I live in the bay area, btw) from a friend's house, while I was on the on-ramp to 101 north from the 85 north junction, a white honda civic just merged full speed ahead right NEXT to my car -- he/she basically merged into my lane and would have rammed directly into my car. Wouldn't have been pretty, but I swerved away and the driver STILL didn't notice until the car behind me almost hit him (who also swerved out of the way), then the civic steers into the shoulder and into the dirt. I drive a pretty big SUV too, I don't see how he could have not seen me -- I would have crushed his car pretty badly as well. Gah... lazy drivers.
Driving probably is one of the things that really should not be done by a computer. Just my opinion...

[Stephen Kowski]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I think this is horrible.

You're right to think this is horrible, but for the wrong reason....they should be making more fuel friendly cars instead of inventing autopilot....i don't like shelling out $35 everytime i go to the gas station.....

i don't need a car that can drive for me....i need one that i can afford to drive....