Self Driving Car?

[BilgeRat]

Another good aspect to this. Looks like a great place to put all the cell phone addicts, makeup appliers, book readers, etc., and partially clear the road of potential Darwin Award candidates for those of us who like to drive.

 

[goofyone]

We are only at the beginning stages of this technology and there are still plenty of technical and legal issues which must be worked out before it becomes commonplace. That being said, I can not wait for the day this technology is worked out and widely implemented because it is a fact that distracted and/or poorly trained human drivers are the cause of most accidents and this technology would help severely cut down on that issue. Also, as much as I enjoy driving at times, there are also many times when I would rather sit back and relax than have to drive such as when commuting and when traveling distances on the highway.

 

[BilgeRat]

Also, as much as I enjoy driving at times, there are also many times when I would rather sit back and relax than have to drive such as when commuting and when traveling distances on the highway.

G1, my wife and I do this periodically, it's called Metra to downtown Chicago! :-) Seriously, it's great to be able to relax and enjoy the trip. We almost never drive into Chicago any more.

 

[corvairbob]

the insurance company's are pushing this technology so it will happen they have them in ann arbor michigan in california and some other placed now. the army even has automated truck convoys the drive 30 mph and they are now pushing it to 45 mph. so get use to it. the self driving car will be safer than the human. like plains they will have backups and if they fail the car will pull to the side and stop.

 

[msmith5150]

You'll have to pry my steering wheel from my cold dead hands!

 

[corvairbob]

if that is all they offer then you walk

 

[Rickb]

if that is all they offer then you walk

Our vintage Elio's will still be up and running.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

This is a technology searching for a car, not a car searching for a technology.
Google has refined the technology, infra structure, and standards now they need a platform.
They are not automotive experts and they know this.

Interestingly enough, due to their lack of legacy structure and burdens, Tesla and Elio are actually well positioned for driverless technology.
Elio would be a very interesting, inexpensive platform to further the technology from an Alpha testing stage to a Beta testing stage.
The Tesla would be an excellent first production platform.

As for the insurance companies, the moment they see a 90% decrease in accidents with self driving vehicles, they would certainly rush to insure them and in some cases like reckless drivers and DUI repeat offenders, require self driving cars.

Self driving cars make massive financial sense for deliveries, taxi companies/zip car, and areas poorly served by public transportation.

There is a lot of evolution going on in the auto world.