Where will Autonomous Cars take us?

rogher
rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
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edited January 2016 in Towcars & Towing #1

Do you think driver-less cars may really arrive? What purpose do you think they may serve?

I assume that no licence would be required, so handy for a trip to the pub!

Comments

  • volvoman9
    volvoman9 Forum Participant Posts: 1,053
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    edited January 2016 #2

    I,ve seen quite a few that appear too have no driver already by the way they perform
    Undecided

    peter.

  • flatcoat
    flatcoat Forum Participant Posts: 1,571
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    edited January 2016 #3

    Can see an advantage on m/way driving perhaps. Otherwise I expect they will take you to where you have put in the sat-nav until it gets hacked into..... That will be an interesting discussion with the OH, explaining why the autonomous car took you home via
    the pub......

  • HelenandTrevor
    HelenandTrevor Forum Participant Posts: 3,221
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    edited January 2016 #4

    Our sons live in Milton Keynes where they are trialing the driverless cars between the station and the centre. 

    Not sure I would like to go in one though.

  • rogher
    rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
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    edited January 2016 #5

    I think they will be restricted to certain, well-defined, routes to start with. After that, public transport and taxis. They’ll not be cheap, so will need to be in use for most of the time.

    Do the MK vehicles mix with ordinary traffic?

  • Paul Rainbow
    Paul Rainbow Forum Participant Posts: 129
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    edited January 2016 #6

    At the moment, autonomous cars cannot cope with towns and country lanes easily, as they will hand back control at unexpected moments if the car cannot cope - and the word is (according to Radio 4, so it must be true) they are well away from being able to
    do that. However, motorways are different and they will drive on them even now without a problem.

    I can see a time when we will be driving around as you do now, but then you join a motorway, press a button and the car takes you to your exit junction automatically, at which point you then take back control.

    Not sure they have considered how caravans fit in with driverless cars though.

  • HelenandTrevor
    HelenandTrevor Forum Participant Posts: 3,221
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    edited January 2016 #7

    I think they will be restricted to certain, well-defined, routes to start with. After that, public transport and taxis. They’ll not be cheap, so will need to be in use for most of the time.

    Do the MK vehicles mix with ordinary traffic?

    No, as far as I am aware they use the cycle ways, of which there are many in MK.

  • rogher
    rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
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    edited January 2016 #8

    At the moment, autonomous cars cannot cope with towns and country lanes easily, as they will hand back control at unexpected moments if the car cannot cope - and the word is (according to Radio 4, so it must be true) they are well away from being able to
    do that. However, motorways are different and they will drive on them even now without a problem.

    I can see a time when we will be driving around as you do now, but then you join a motorway, press a button and the car takes you to your exit junction automatically, at which point you then take back control.

     

    Indeed, motorways would be a good place to start. I imagine that I could arrange for it to wait in a service area before expecting me to take over control again, as I could be taking a nap in that part of the journey.

  • rogher
    rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
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    edited January 2016 #9

     

    Not sure they have considered how caravans fit in with driverless cars though.

    With a caravan ‘chasing’ you, it might keep trying to maintain a better distance behind.

    I wonder how long it will be before one will be able to reverse a caravan onto the peg?

  • flatcoat
    flatcoat Forum Participant Posts: 1,571
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    edited January 2016 #10

    The Passat reversing option (or whatever they call it) can almost do that now! However as we all know R4 is the network for motor industry experts so we cannot dispute what they say can we? Why not try reading some car specific magazines such as Autocar?

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,582 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #11

    Motorways would probably be safer but towns would be altogether different. The car would presumably work on a sat nav system but would need an overide to cover traffic problems, road works and road closures that a driver would manage without problem. If the sat nav programme was not up to date there could be chaos with cars going the wrong way down one way streets and other errors.

  • rogher
    rogher Forum Participant Posts: 609
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    edited January 2016 #12

    At the moment the answer to my question seems to be “from Milton Keynes’ station to the centre and back (along a cycleway)”. Are there any other examples already in operation? 

  • ValDa
    ValDa Forum Participant Posts: 3,004
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    edited January 2016 #13

    When we were in France in the summer, the local daily paper reported that PSA-Citroen were doing road tests of their 'guided cars' on the autoroute in the area, in normal traffic conditions.  Each car had a 'driver' sitting in the driver's seat, so that
    other road users weren't alerted by the lack of driver!  According to the paper there had been no incidents so far involving a guided car.

    They may come sooner than we think!

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited January 2016 #14

    When we were in France in the summer, the local daily paper reported that PSA-Citroen were doing road tests of their 'guided cars' on the autoroute in the area, in normal traffic conditions.  Each car had a 'driver' sitting in the driver's seat, so that
    other road users weren't alerted by the lack of driver!  According to the paper there had been no incidents so far involving a guided car.

    They may come sooner than we think!

    Citroen & electrickery? It sounds a recipe for disaster!

  • flatcoat
    flatcoat Forum Participant Posts: 1,571
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    edited January 2016 #15

    MM, totally agree..... memories of my C5 with window closing linked to the wiper rain sensor..... except mine
    opened when it rained...... Can you imagine the car turning left instead of right?!
    Surprised However autonomous doesn't mean driverless and cannot see driverless cars anytime soon.