I can't say I am looking forward to this advance(?) in car control.

This development will suit the vast numbers of people who already clog up the motorway by driving 'nose to tail' in the centre lane.

I see this behaviour on the M5 all through the summer, as the holiday makers seem to select the middle lane somewhere north of Birmingham, and seem to be worried that they will lose their position in the queue, if they allow a normal gap, or pull back into the (empty) left hand lane.
The chosen speed seems to be about 65mph and kept up until about 50 yards from their chosen holiday destination exit.

Quotes
Such technology controls a car's movements and can keep it in lane for extended periods, although drivers need to be ready to take back control.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders claims it could cut accidents.

The technology could be given the go ahead for speeds of up to 70mph, according to the DfT, potentially making long stretches of tedious motorway driving a thing of the past.

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does this apply to Police cars, trying to stop 'get-away-vehicles' ??

There are many applications for this tech.

There is a great danger with this of drivers falling asleep at the wheel, moreso than some already do, so how are they going to take back control when something goes wrong? The resources given to hands free technology would be better spent on improving driving skills, something that many drivers are short on - and I include myself in that even although I have taken advanced police driving training.

J

Maybe I'm just a bit of a Luddite but this kind of stuff always scares me a little, in my mind, whatever other checks are in place, you really can't beat having a properly skilled and alert driver at the wheel at all times

All this striving to keep on automating stuff more and more to take decision making away from the driver seems to me to just dilute the skills and attention needed, resulting in worse attitudes toward the whole process, a typical example of the Peltzman Effect in action.

Then of course, when something does go wrong, it's always going to be someone else's fault.

I've always welcomed many technical advances in cars,
but with the general attitude of a lot of drivers on our roads I do wonder
how many will see this as an opportunity to engage the brain into doing something else.
Dave DAVE.

Last edited by Dave47 on 19th Aug 2020 5:09 pm. Edited 1 time in total

All this investment in autonomous cars for motorway driving under the illusion it will save lives is a waste of time.
The motorways are the safest roads by far.

The investment to save lives should be aimed at where it matters:
eg
In urban areas
Where there are pedestrians and cyclists
Where there is on-coming traffic
Where there are narrow roads with no pavements
Where here are junctions
etc etc
Thats where people get killed and maimed for life in the main, not motorways

Tell the boffins to go away and come back when they have something that will work in the important areas and to stop trying to convince us they have a solution when they actually they are miles off. Jules

Spot on there Jules.

Dave DAVE.

a few years back on a fast country road, a massive heron flew out of a tree real close to the car, as a human it took a split second to realise I would not hit it and it was no threat, would an automated car slam the brakes on . . . . .? 2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
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In the time you had assessed the threat and calculated the likely outcome the car would have made a hundred assessments and decisions to avoid the heron without causing a crash. (not you specifically of course - any human)

Personally, I think the real problem will be mixing real drivers and robot cars together on the same roads... particularly those real drivers already with questionable driving skills or attitudes. They wlll know that autonomous cars will do whatever it takes to avoid conflict and take advantage of that to cut in, pull out, turn across etc... I’d have no reservations about fully (tried and tested) autonomous car populated roadways.

Were there to be a poll regarding autonomous cars then I reckon that an overwhelming percentage of the population would say NO.
An unwanted technology being promoted for what reason? MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

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"I’d have no reservations about fully (tried and tested) autonomous car populated roadways"

I think you are going to be waiting a long time. Jules

Dave47 wrote:

I've always welcomed many technical advances in cars,
but with the general attitude of a lot of drivers on our roads I do wonder
how many will see this as an opportunity to engage the brain into doing something else.
Dave

Of course you can measure the human's alertness by attaching an EEG and measuring things like eye lid blink rate but at the moment it would certainly increase the start up time way beyond that of putting a seat belt on.

As far as Im aware most of the fatalities associated with autonomous vehicles have occurred because the human wasn't doing their job of staying alert. Jules

https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/17/18564...esla-waymo Jules

Most accidents happen within 5 km of home.

No amount of autonomous driving prevents someone opening a car door as you are driving past.



Not here either!

'I was with my cousin from England & in thick traffic he wanted to drive in his right hand drive car a few times around Arc de Triomphe. It worked brilliantly, no scratches but maybe a few skid marks!' Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

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