Despite strict rules, General Motors will test its self-driving cars in New York City:
Cruise Automation, the self-driving unit of General Motors, announced today that it will test its autonomous Chevy Bolts in one of the most torturously congested cities in the world: New York City. According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the company will be the first to test Level 4 autonomous vehicles in the state.
The testing will be in Manhattan, where Cruise has begun mapping a geofenced area, Cuomo's office said. All testing will include an engineer in the driver's seat to monitor and evaluate performance, and a second person in the passenger seat. As part of the agreement with the state, Cruise will also set up an office in New York City and begin building a team of employees.
"Autonomous vehicles have the potential to save time and save lives, and we are proud to be working with GM and Cruise on the future of this exciting new technology," Cuomo said in a statement.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 18 2017, @03:14PM
But wouldn't this just mean the car was parked?
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday October 18 2017, @04:29PM (3 children)
It will be boring as hell for hours on end, which means your mind will wander, which means when things go south you won't react fast enough to prevent Something Bad (tm), which means you take the blame.
My ducks are not in a row. I don't know where some of them are, and I'm pretty sure one of them is a turkey.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:10PM (2 children)
Probably why the passenger is required.
Second set of eyes, and you can no longer blame one person.
(Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:51PM (1 child)
Two different jobs. The guy in the driver's seat is for overriding the car when it makes a mistake. He needs no knowledge beyond how to drive. The guy in the passenger seat is an engineer operating a laptop, monitoring the software, and noting when it makes mistakes.
Hurrah! Quoting works now!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday October 18 2017, @08:45PM
Also, TWO guys are harder to subdue than one, which gives GM a chance of keeping the majority of these cars out of some back ally chop shop.
And by having a white guy and a black guy they could probably defuse any arbitrary "broken tail light" shootings or DWB stops.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:33PM (2 children)
The cars should be black with a red light in the grill that sweeps back and forth.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:53PM (1 child)
Or a VW Beetle with 53 written on the hood.
Hurrah! Quoting works now!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday October 19 2017, @12:05PM
Or a 1958 Plymouth Fury that plays 50's tunes non-stop.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by DECbot on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:52PM (5 children)
Just like software design, you get to pick two. Might as well speed up the design process and install a battering ram on the front bumper. You know, to keep the pedestrians from blocking the sidewalk detection hardware.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 18 2017, @08:16PM (4 children)
Kinda funny, but not true.
If they can nail down the safety factor to equal or better than the best human drivers then speed come right after that. The most significant "save time" benefit for people is less traffic, better traffic flow, and door to door drop off.
Personally I just don't want a networked car and I will always want the option to drive myself or get a human driver.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Wednesday October 18 2017, @09:00PM (3 children)
Wait, What?
Every estimation is that self driving cars will INCREASE congestion, and make trips slower.
You can bet they will never exceed the speed limit, or even keep up with traffic.
You can bet they will be sent on beer runs, or "go park yourself" missions, or other errands around town, with nobody riding in them. MORE traffic.
You can bet that door to door zones will be clogged by driverless cars waiting for passengers or someone to come down and take the groceries. Honking won't help.
They will be unsafe to ride in at night because one skinny thug standing in the way will stop them in their tracks, while 2 others beat the shit out of you.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by DECbot on Thursday October 19 2017, @01:08AM
My original thought was to throw safety right out the window. Allow things like reckless speeding, aggressive lane changes, go the wrong way on a one-way street, driving on the sidewalk, striking pedestrians... You know, things drunk celebrities tend to do in super cars.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday October 19 2017, @05:27AM
Seen the fees at these parking places? I'll betcha a lot of people will instruct their vehicles to loiter nearby until called.
Another thing I see is vehicles on the road serving only as mobile advertising billboards.
I already see trucks around where I live, trucks the size of moving vans, which carry nothing more than a driver and a big illuminated billboard.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by Nobuddy on Thursday October 19 2017, @04:31PM
"Every estimation is that self driving cars will INCREASE congestion, and make trips slower."
[Citation Needed]
I have read a lot of reports, and they say the complete opposite. All of the testing in Nevada shows them making better time and fewer accidents than humans. And increasing congestion is not a bad thing when all of the cars move through that congestion faster than human driven cars would. A road filled with automated cars does not have the human accordion effect. Or need traffic lights, for that matter. They just alternate without stopping at intersections.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday October 19 2017, @12:23PM (1 child)
Will the headless cars be equipped to operate in NYC, though? Will they be able to respond to pedestrians shouting, "I'm walking here!" or flip the bird to cabbies who cut them off? Will they be able to race to the end of a merge and aggressively jam into a line of drivers for whom yielding an inch is tantamount to death?
'Cause if they're not, they'll be eaten alive.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 20 2017, @04:09AM
> 'Cause if they're not, they'll be eaten alive.
Most likely eaten alive (figuratively).
Also, they will get lost all the time, because GPS is crap in NYC with all the multipath reflections off buildings.