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from the avoiding-accidents-is-dangerous-driving dept.
BBC reports that according to Dmitri Dolgov, lead software engineer for Google's driverless car project, Google's self-driving cars are programmed to exceed speed limits by up to 10 mph when surrounding vehicles are breaking the speed limit, because going more slowly could actually present a danger. In many countries, including the United States, the speed limit is a rather nebulous thing. It's posted, but on many roads hardly anybody obeys it.
Almost every driver speeds regularly, and anybody going at or below the limit on a clear road outside the right lane is typically an obstruction to traffic—they will find themselves being tailgated or passed at high speed on the left and right. A ticket for going 1 mph over the limit is an extremely rare thing and usually signals a cop with another agenda or a special day of zero-tolerance enforcement. In fact, many drivers feel safe from tickets up to about 9 mph over the limit. Tickets happen there, but the major penalties require going faster, and most police like to go after that one weaving, racing guy who thinks the limit does not apply to him. Commenting on Google self-drive cars' ability to exceed the speed limit, a Department for Transport spokesman said: "There are no plans to change speed limits, which will still apply to driverless cars".
(Score: 5, Interesting) by SuperCharlie on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:21PM
Some of you will hate this, some of you will like this and probably a very few will have done this..
After a few long distance driving trips and some "deep thought" I decided to think of traffic somewhat like fluid dynamics. (for long interstate stuff, not around town). I found that if I went 3-5 mph slower than the person in front of me, that I created a bubble around my car where people would simply flow around the car or set up the same speed behind me. Of course I would go around people who were 10 mph or more under the posted limit, but those are pretty rare. What this ends up doing is relieving the stress from lane changing and trying to continually get ahead of the next person or even trying to keep up with the person in front of me. The time loss from the few miles per hour, to me, was well worth the now laid back and relaxed ride. So ya, Im that guy. :p
(Score: 3, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:25PM
Let me guess, in the left lane, too.
Around here, left lane is for slowing down while talking on your cellphone. Its really weird.
(Score: 2) by SuperCharlie on Wednesday August 20 2014, @03:43PM
Especially when youre late. I find that matching the cars speed next to me works great to help you work on anger management. :p
(Score: 2) by forsythe on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:37PM
Be passive-aggressive all you want, but please do it a few states away from me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @04:05PM
As long as you do this in the right-hand lane...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:50AM
Where I live, the right-hand lane is the right lane to overtake
(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Wednesday August 20 2014, @04:50PM
its called cruise control....set it at any speed and you will be passed!!
Those intelligent ones in expensive cars currently, are pretty much what googles robocar will do.
Only it will also pull of the exit you need....
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday August 20 2014, @04:55PM
You're right that fluid dynamics are a decent model. You're wrong that the best thing to do is go a bit slow.
The ideal, really, is to find a lane that is going roughly the speed you want to go, and match that speed as exactly as possible, leaving decent space in front or behind you. For example, the right lane might move at 55 mph, the middle lane at 65 mph, and the left lane at 80 mph. There's not a lot of decision-making involved, which makes driving a lot less stressful.
The other principle that should be taught, but often isn't, is that when changing lanes you need enough space to not only fit into the new lane and the old lane, but change your speed to match the new lane (either in the old or new lane). Failing to take that into account is why one 50 mph car in the right lane can easily slow down a 4-5 line highway: Frustrated people in the right lane move into the next lane over still going 50 mph, which slows down the next lane, which causes people in the next lane to move into the next lane over, and so forth, until you've reached the other side of the highway.
The major flaw in your strategy is easy to figure out: What if everybody else did what you did?
So yeah, don't be that guy.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:03PM
Adaptive Cruise Control is a godsend if you ask me. (And you don't have to have a really expensive car do get that option).
Set your max, and it will follow the car ahead at a user selectable distance, up to your max. Then just stay in the lane that is closest to (but slightly under) your max.
You will never be holding anybody up, (unless your max is under the prevailing speeds of every lane), and your lane changes will be minimized. (A lot of freeway accidents are lane change induced).
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by kaganar on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:54PM
I suspect it depends on where you live, how you drive, and the kinds of roads. I lived 80 minutes away down a four-lane (2 and 2) interstate from my work for a couple years, and I tried a lot of methods to reduce the stress and danger of driving. I can tell you this didn't work for me.
The problem is that no matter what semi-sane speed (speed limit +10 and below) I chose, people always wanted to go faster. They'd slowly creep up until they were right behind me, take their sweet time passing me, and then leave me a full car distance if I was lucky once they pulled back in front of me. Many people were likely to try this, even when the passing lane was going the same speed I was and they'd only have a few feet to spare in front or back. The slower I went, the more likely these outcomes were.
I suspect the root of the problem is that I'm one of those "weird" drivers who leaves three or four seconds of follow time between me and the next car -- seems to make people think I'm going too slow, no matter if I'm going faster than the person in front of me, the same, or slower. People literally speed up to pass me, get in front of me, and slow down. This isn't in heavy traffic, Friday night, or anything like that -- people just do it naturally.
Driving is definitely one of those cases where intelligence or logical thought doesn't apply entirely -- there's some point between what makes sense and what actually happens that's the sweet spot of safety. Only way to find that sweet spot is experience with your local driving conditions.
(Score: 2) by strattitarius on Wednesday August 20 2014, @08:13PM
I think you nailed it. I have always allowed quite a bit of distance between me and the car ahead, mainly because my mind can wander off and I don't trust myself. This seems to make people think I am going slow and they can get ahead by passing me, and now instead of my 3-4 second space, it's 1-2. So I slow down a bit and get my space back, only to have it happen again.
I have given up. Just be an asshole, expect others to be an asshole and move closer to work.
BTW, the most awesome place to drive is Manhattan (not NYC, just Manhattan) because everyone there knows it's busy and you just have to go. Just go. Don't be nice, don't wait, just go. We'll all move faster in the end if you just go. Just GO!!
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 1) by Arik on Thursday August 21 2014, @02:15PM
That's not wierd, that's sane.
The idiot majority that are forcing themselves into position in front of you are the ones that cause accidents and kill people. And what they are doing is technically illegal. But more work to write tickets for and prosecute for than speeding, unfortunately.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by hash14 on Thursday August 21 2014, @04:57AM
Good. People shouldn't be driving that fast anyway. In fact, to be frank, driving 85 mph on the highway is downright idiotic. It's dangerous, wastes fuel, and doesn't even get you there that much faster - it just shaves a few minutes off the highway time, which doesn't even count for that much proportionally speaking if you have a non-highway portion of your trip as well.
Driving slow isn't a problem. It's the people driving fast that are causing the problem and making it worse to drive for others who are trying to be safe. Just because some people are in a personal rush (probably of their own fault anyway) or just pointlessly impatient and/or reckless doesn't mean other drivers should have to pay the penalty. Honestly, they should give more speeding tickets to enforce this.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:09PM
3 too 5 is too slow, and you induce a lot of lane changes behind you, and then again in front of you. Lane changes induce a lot of accidents.
10 cars in a row, each following your method reduces the traffic speed at the end of the chain from 55 to 5mph.
I suggest you haven't thought that out very well. You've made yourself a nuisance, and imposed a lot of risk on other road users.
Just keep up with traffic, leaving a gap in front of you as you wish. Its safer for everyone.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @06:44PM
They added a new blockquote graphic!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @07:18PM
In Georgia, you can now be ticketed for not speeding fast enough. The threshold is left to each officer's discretion, but it's been very clearly communicated that "obeying the posted speed" is likely to get you a "slow poke" ticket. If there are people behind you, you are the slow poke.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @07:43PM
I had this image of someone pouring a box of jello into a water dynamics model of the street system and just going like, "and this is the area around a local small-town cop with a ticket quota..."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 20 2014, @10:34PM
...if I went 3-5 mph slower than the person in front of me...
My GF often does this in the slow lane, works for her...drives me nuts!
For a few years my "commute" involved a 1000 mile drive between two houses, every month or two. At a 60 mph average (including some stops) it took 16:40 and at 65 mph 15:23 -- saving over an hour. My strategy, when the road was not crowded, was to look for someone going fast (80+) in the left lane and match their speed. Position was far enough back that they knew I wasn't trying to pass them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 21 2014, @11:02AM
I notice that when I am doing a short journey I don't care and drive slowly. When I am doing a long journey, it makes a difference. The point is an extra minute on my day doesn't matter, and extra half hour does...