don't forget to review your auto insurance . . .

ChowderMan

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Tesla, others seek ways to ensure drivers keep their hands on the wheel
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-selfdriving-safety-idUSKBN19E1ZA

automakers and allied 'hi-tek' companies are in this gigantic race to develop self driving cars. this is going to be extremely troublesome - and indeed fatal - to many people before they get it right.

and people with brains who are not using self-driving cars are going to get hurt, not only the numbnuts that think these systems work anywhere anytime all the time no matter what. be sure you car insurance has you fully covered for drone car attacks - remember, the largest corporation on the planet filed bankruptcy to avoid liability for it's screw up (General Motors and the case of the known bad ignition switches....) so don't expect Telsa or Google will take responsibility for your death or injury.

here's some excerpt from the above article:
".... the crash underscored a vexing problem for automakers that want to gain an edge by launching technology that completely automates driving tasks. Unless a car is capable of driving itself safely in every situation, drivers will still have to remain alert and ready to take control even if the car is piloting itself. "
translation into English: we have this technology that doesn't work reliably so please buy this option if you want to kill yourself by car.

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is the lead agency for regulating self-driving cars, does not test or pre-approve driver assistance systems before automakers install them."
translation into English: we're selling systems that only we have tested. if you're old enough to remember when personal computers happened, Apples were very reliable because you could not buy any software for an Apple that had not been tested and approved by Apple. the DOS world was chock-a-block full of garbage software - anybody could write and sell a program for the pc. auto-driving software is just like the early DOS days - a wild-west-free-for-all.

from a chief proponent:
"Musk said at the time that autopilot accidents are far more likely for expert users of the system, saying some users got as many as 10 warnings in an hour under the prior system. “It's not the neophytes, it's the experts. They get very comfortable with it and repeatedly ignore the car's warnings and in effect it becomes like a reflex action,” Musk said."

and remember, this is the same guy that says "actually it does not work all the time" - he just wants you to buy it.

so, in the name of the first-est / biggest profits, companies are getting ready to unleash untested, unproven driverless car piloting software - the government has no laws or intentions to regulate it in any fashion. a lot of people are going to die in this experiment. we need a law to make any self driving car automatically at fault for any accident it is involved in.
 
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