How will self driving cars change cities

[selfdriving]

Which cities will benefit the most from self driving cars? How will the fabric of cities change with the advent of self driving cars? Will they become denser or more spread out? Will they become more vibrant.

I think Los Angeles will greatly benefit from the use of self driving cars because their infrastructure was built for it. Many freeways and large streets.

The reason NYC is the most populous city is because employers have access to large amount of talent via the subway system but once self driving cars become the superior mode of public transport, I think Los Angeles will surpass New York to become America's largest and wealthiest city.

Thoughts?

[MolsonExport]

I don't think we will see self-driving cars for many years, if ever. Hype without the loop.
Kind of like cold fusion and the Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup.

[mhays]

Above a certain density, transit is much more efficient.

One guess is that SDCs will serve a "last mile" role for a lot of people.

[JManc]

The technology just isn't there yet. It's coming but the level of computing power required to entrust AI with total autonomy is at least a generation out. Meanwhile, i think other disruptive changes like ride sharing (pre-Covid-19) would make more of an impact.

[giallo]

By the time self-driving cars can be a thing, self-flying drones will be nipping at that industry's heels.

Drones are the future, not cars.

[SIGSEGV]

Self-driving buses are a much simpler problem (fixed routes that can have technology assists) and much more efficient.

[homebucket]

You guys have been watching too much Westworld.

[dubu]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Self-driving buses are a much simpler problem (fixed routes that can have technology assists) and much more efficient.

but why not self driving trains then? make it way more simple. buses are huge and human or even ai will make it difficult to be safe.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by dubu

but why not self driving trains then? make it way more simple. buses are huge and human or even ai will make it difficult to be safe.

Because a bus (That acts like a train) has fewer infrastructure requirements.

[Stay Stoked Brah]

Originally Posted by selfdriving

Which cities will benefit the most from self driving cars? How will the fabric of cities change with the advent of self driving cars? Will they become denser or more spread out? Will they become more vibrant.

I think Los Angeles will greatly benefit from the use of self driving cars because their infrastructure was built for it. Many freeways and large streets.

The reason NYC is the most populous city is because employers have access to large amount of talent via the subway system but once self driving cars become the superior mode of public transport, I think Los Angeles will surpass New York to become America's largest and wealthiest city.

Thoughts?

Where does Elon Musk live? That's your answer. Just think about the idea of self driving cars in tunnels. Tesla + The Boring Co.

[badrunner]

Just say NO to robot cars.

[floor23]

I think one of the biggest roadblocks to self driving cars will be insurance/legal liability.

Theoretical example:
If I'm in a self-driving Google car and it crashes who exactly is responsible? Me or Google?

If the owner is responsible then how will that affect insurance rates? How will consumers react to that risk?

If the automated software/manufacturer are held responsible, will it be a worthwhile business venture even with the increased liability?

How are insurance companies going to react to this?

I'm sure many of you guys are more up-to-date on self-driving cars than I am, but I never hear its proponents mention this despite being a legal requirement for all drivers.

For me personally, if the liability is on the owner of the vehicle, then I'd probably keep to driving my own vehicle.

I'd love to hear some opinions on this aspect.

[MolsonExport]

fucking microsoft windows has problems all the time (ditto for iOS), and we expect to have highways full of cars being driven by software and sensors? one little glitch and Whoops! Complete carnage. Not to mention all the liability issues as listed above?
Fat chance.
And why exactly do we need self-driving cars? Seems like a solution in search of a problem.

[chris08876]

People are already asleep at the wheel with regular cars, and self-driving will only further the sleepy time.

I think folks will get bored with self-driving cars.

The market will dictate the success, and I don't think that many people are shallow enough to warrant mass production of fully self driven cars. Too much of a hassle.

[chris08876]

Although if the self driving car software has a parameter in it that forces slow folks out of the left, and into the right lane... than we might see some progress.

I'd even be for a self driving car premium subscription plan which is only granted for folks that don't grip the left lane. The perks of this plan are that you can do 100 mph without a speeding ticket, and the cops will respect that. But only for premium subscriptions.

Now... your standard family plan subscription with no-left lane driving restrictions covers mini vans, Prius', and any Honda with a baby on board sticker and anybody with a NY State Plate driving an SUV. Possibly Corollas, those too.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

fucking microsoft windows has problems all the time (ditto for iOS), and we expect to have highways full of cars being driven by software and sensors? one little glitch and Whoops! Complete carnage.

we already have complete carnage on the roads as it is with human drivers.

~40,000 auto-related deaths (and ~2.4M injures) in the US each year.

yes, computers do fuck up from time to time, but from what i've seen, they're FAR more reliable than your typical human moron.

[MolsonExport]

Of course computers are more reliable than people, but when there is a problem, the problem is compounded by the number of people on the road.

-I'd like to know how the self-driving car overarching navigation system will be kept safe from hackers and terrorists.
-I'd like to know what happens if the GPS/Satellite navigation system goes down due to solar flares or whatnot.
-I'd like to know how the system will adjust in a Canadian Blizzard, or when there is black ice.
-I'd like to know how the system reacts when there is a rogue driver bent on causing as much carnage as possible as he goes down in a suicidal act.
-And given all of the above, alongside casualties, who pays when the shit hits the fan?

[Steely Dan]

^ oh, i'm not saying that there aren't tremendous challenges to making self-driving cars replace human-operated cars en masse.

i was just pointing out that we ALREADY have complete carnage on the roads with humans drivers.

computers can't be any worse.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Of course computers are more reliable than people, but when there is a problem, the problem is compounded by the number of people on the road.

-I'd like to know how the self-driving car overarching navigation system will be kept safe from hackers and terrorists.
-I'd like to know what happens if the GPS/Satellite navigation system goes down due to solar flares or whatnot.
-I'd like to know how the system will adjust in a Canadian Blizzard, or when there is black ice.
-I'd like to know how the system reacts when there is a rogue driver bent on causing as much carnage as possible as he goes down in a suicidal act.
-And given all of the above, alongside casualties, who pays when the shit hits the fan?

I don't think most of these are problems without solutions. The actual movement of the car should be controlled by onboard sensors, anyway. If something happens to the GPS, the car should still be able to safely navigate off the road and park itself.

That said, I don't think self-driving cars will dramatically alter our behavior. Self-driving cars will be most disruptive to taxi/chauffeur services and public transit. Uber and Lyft are the precursor to self-driving cars. Where Uber and Lyft took hold the most, inner-cities and airports, is probably where you'll see self-driving cars make the most disruption. I doubt that suburban, car dependent communities will change much.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Of course computers are more reliable than people, but when there is a problem, the problem is compounded by the number of people on the road.

-I'd like to know how the self-driving car overarching navigation system will be kept safe from hackers and terrorists.
-I'd like to know what happens if the GPS/Satellite navigation system goes down due to solar flares or whatnot.
-I'd like to know how the system will adjust in a Canadian Blizzard, or when there is black ice.
-I'd like to know how the system reacts when there is a rogue driver bent on causing as much carnage as possible as he goes down in a suicidal act.
-And given all of the above, alongside casualties, who pays when the shit hits the fan?

yeah and what happens when somebody hacks into every car's control system and starts them all going at 100 mph?