Driverless/automated cars

[ktheodos]

Good or bad idea? Weigh in....

[thetwitchyone]

As someone who can't drive, on paper, this sounds like a great idea. Having a science background, honestly, I doubt they can be functional without bad results. Finally, as a cynic, even if they do work - and that's a very big if - those who need/could use them most won't be able to afford them. Just my 2 cents, well I guess 6 cents.

[aharr1]

I like the idea of it although it is a very scary thought but is so cool how technology just keeps growing and helping human kind

[msmoneybags48]

I think it is an awesome idea.  I could sit on the passenger side and go whereever.  I wouldn't have to bother my husband to take me somewhere.  But I wonder if it is safe or when it will happen.

[countrygirl12]

Good or bad idea? Weigh in....

This is not possible.  It reminds me of the idiot who put her RV on AUTO and went into the back to make a sandwich.  The vehicle wrecked then the fool was able to sue the maker of the RV and I am pretty sure she got money for her stupidity.  There has to be a driver in the seat.  The vehicle cannot operate without someone in the seat to stop it if something in front of it stops or something goes out in front of it.

[rghvac69]

Sounds like a bad idea to me. I know humans aren't perfect, but neither are machines.

[Timberlan127]

When ever I picture driverless cars I think of the Jetson's cartoons. We''re getting closer to that all the time. It would probably result in a lot less accidents.

[bremer51]

I like to drive.

[Freebase]

its a bad idea because anything can happen out on the road in a car & it can happen in an instance thats why there rules of the driver being aware at all times during driving. (even if it was like the jetsons or irobot manual driving still be ineffect because of anything can happen in an instance also malfunctions can happen at any moment and can be dangerous to others and the driver)

[BMaston12]

Good or bad idea? Weigh in....

Could be an accident waiting to happen. I didn't really know how well the software will work in the cars. It should be extensively tested first. I would hate to have a massive pileup of driverless cars.
BMaston12

[kewl4reals]

Good or bad idea? Weigh in....

I wonder if they have good gas mileage on those cars

[bowrunner]

I think driverless cars is something that is way out in the future.  It seems to me they would be very very expensive also.

[lvstephanie]

Good or bad idea? Weigh in....

This is not possible.  It reminds me of the idiot who put her RV on AUTO and went into the back to make a sandwich.  The vehicle wrecked then the fool was able to sue the maker of the RV and I am pretty sure she got money for her stupidity.  There has to be a driver in the seat.  The vehicle cannot operate without someone in the seat to stop it if something in front of it stops or something goes out in front of it.

If it's not possible, then you better tell the engineers at Google that have logged over 300,000 accident-free miles that what they're doing is just imaginary  I had actually heard about Google's project to develop driverless cars a few years ago in some science magazine when they launched their first trial run. I had wanted to keep track of their progress, but just forgot about it until I saw this thread. It sounds like it's coming along fairly well; I guess they are already starting to lobby different states to allow these types of vehicles (and 4 states already have laws approving such things). You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_driverless_car or from Google itself: http://www.google.com/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/self-driving-car-test-steve-mahan.html

I think it's a great idea. I think it'd be safer, the traffic would be more predictable, and there'd be less stress on the roads. Although some people that enjoy driving would hate it, as it would feel much more controlled rather than feeling free to just drive. (Oh cool! I just watched the video on the Google page I linked to, and it shows another reason to like these... The "driver" is 75% blind, so a self-driving car would allow people like him with handicaps that may not allow for driving manually to be able to get around with their own car.)

[alice44]

It sounds too good to be true - a car driving by itself.  But science is wonderful so it may come to be.  I can't quite figure out how it will work though.