OT: Does anyone here want to own a self-driving car?

[Guest]

@suncoastvike said:
I believe it is the future. I believe things like these make me fear the future. Then I try something new and say that's damn cool. Us 70's guys need dragging into the future.

I think about my 84 year old dad or 89 year old mil...My dad can still drive but not my mil.

This tech would be a godsend for them. Losing the ability to drive takes so much independence away. 

[Guest]

I absolutely would. Anyone who thinks human drivers are going to be better than self-driving cars is delusional. Although safety has been getting better and better especially in terms of vehicle miles traveled. It is still in the 35,000 range per year. Not only is it going to happen soon it is going to change the economy drastically. 

[Guest]

My 17 year old barely drives.  We bought him a car for christmas last year and he still was in no hurry to get his license.

[Guest]

The evolution will be from owning self driving cars to self driving cars that show up and drive you anywhere you want that you don't own. Like Uber but without the human driver. Parents today are now their kids' limousine service anyway, its really the genesis of all of this with millennials. 

[Guest]

I think self driving cars are clearly the future.  There's just too many benefits.  Instead of driving home a little too drunk or too tired, you just get in the car and it takes you home.  Your parent gets too old or is disabled, just get in the car and it will take you there.  Do you have someone in the family that refuses to drive in the metro because it's too scary.  Not an issue.  Did you forget something important at a family members house that's a couple hours away or do they need to borrow something you have?  Just stick it in the self-driving car and send it on its way.  For people that are physically disabled or wheelchair bound, you don't need traditional seat layouts in a self-driving car, so you can make the cars much easier to get in and out of.  Or how about something as massive as eliminating jobs for people who's job is purely to drive around.  If we could instantly go from a 40 hour work week to a 30 hour work week with this one technology (or whatever the number is).  Or speeding up the efficiency of traffic that's on the road.  Automated cars could all speed up or break together, speeds could regulated to smooth out traffic flow eliminating stop and go type traffic.

The not owning your own vehicle is a huge benefit for society as a whole.  I would have to speculate that ride share type services would facilitate better carpooling as a system could better match up passengers to routes being taken.  Plus with a fleet type operation, you'd probably have a reduction in how many unmaintained vehicles are out on the road.  There's a lot of people that have to make the choice between repairing their vehicle and paying their normal bills, so they choose not to fix something.

[Guest]

@matt4787 said:
I absolutely would. Anyone who thinks human drivers are going to be better than self-driving cars is delusional. Although safety has been getting better and better especially in terms of vehicle miles traveled. It is still in the 35,000 range per year. Not only is it going to happen soon it is going to change the economy drastically. 

So you think enrolling in Roadmaster Truck Driver Training School is a bad idea? 
10-4 good buddy.

[Guest]

no thank you for me at least at this time.  until the road mapping softwares and shit get much much better I will keep my hands on the wheel.   we have come a long way with technology,  but IMO there are still far to many failures to trust lives with it en mass.  there is also the security issue with it... how long before somebody cracks into the software that is controlling these things and plants a virus of some type?

[Guest]

@suncoastvike said:

@matt4787 said:
I absolutely would. Anyone who thinks human drivers are going to be better than self-driving cars is delusional. Although safety has been getting better and better especially in terms of vehicle miles traveled. It is still in the 35,000 range per year. Not only is it going to happen soon it is going to change the economy drastically. 

So you think enrolling in Roadmaster Truck Driver Training School is a bad idea? 
10-4 good buddy.

Actually the whole Truck driving thing is where I see self driving vehicles being the biggest deal for the economy. The trucking industry is in a HUGE pickle right now - there are not nearly enough drivers. No one is getting involved. Cross Country trucking is a lonely and dangerous job. Young people today do not want to fill these job openings which are everywhere. Trucking schools are doing all they can to get recruits into their schools - offering $$ and many other benefits that never existed for Truckers. Its one reason why so many of the big rig truck drivers I see coming into our warehouse everyday are foreign (from countries with bad economies). Having Auto Driving Big Rig trucks would revolutionize the trucking industry and hopefully will. Shipping costs will drop drastically with not having to pay a driver which is especially huge for cross country driving. And these auto driving trucks will not have to pull over for mandatory sleep breaks. Scheduling truck driving at night when there is the least traffic would be easy to do. So many benefits. 

Its so weird - when I was a kid Trucking seemed SO cool! Think Smokey and the Bandit! That was my impression at least as a little boy. Not any more for things young ones. Maybe we need a really cool Trucking movie again like Convoy/Breaker! Breaker! / White Line Fever, or TV shows like BJ and the Bear. Have to wonder how these shows glamorized trucking back in the day and helped get new employees - a recruiting thing I suppose.

But in the mean time - go ahead and enroll in the Roadmaster Truck Driver Training School if you need a guaranteed job with benefits and decent pay. Just be prepared for a tough lonely job if your a cross country driver. I think you have about 10 years before Auto driving cross country trucking takes hold (safety / technology fixes / investment by Trucking companies into the new vehicles etc. to be ironed out). 

[Guest]

I get all the tech benefits that have been listed here and I understand the millennial's apathy towards autos, insurance, repairs, etc.  I have a daughter that does not have a drivers license and cares little about getting one let alone owning a car.
But I'm glad I grew up when I did and had the enjoyment of owning and maintaining my own car and the freedom it provided me as a youth.  Sure, like a child waiting at a school bus stop, or and oldster getting shuttled to their doctor appointment by a church van, someone or something can certainly pick me up and get me from point A to B. 
But for many, "getting from point A to B" is only one benefit of driving their own car.  The sad aspect of this technology is that we're losing self-reliance and instead relying on a third party.  Cost savings?  Sure. But just like owning a horse and buggy in our great, great ancestors generations, automobile ownership taught folks to be responsible for their transportation and ultimately responsible for themselves as well.   
Watch the faces of attendees at a custom car show or a vintage auto show.  Memories of owning and caring for a piece of American... or European/Asian ...steel, rubber and chrome light up their faces and are ingrained in the American spirit.  No Uber, Tesla or drone-powered bus can ever compare.

[Guest]

@NorthernCalVike said:

@suncoastvike said:

@matt4787 said:
I absolutely would. Anyone who thinks human drivers are going to be better than self-driving cars is delusional. Although safety has been getting better and better especially in terms of vehicle miles traveled. It is still in the 35,000 range per year. Not only is it going to happen soon it is going to change the economy drastically. 

So you think enrolling in Roadmaster Truck Driver Training School is a bad idea? 
10-4 good buddy.

Actually the whole Truck driving thing is where I see self driving vehicles being the biggest deal for the economy. The trucking industry is in a HUGE pickle right now - there are not nearly enough drivers. No one is getting involved. Cross Country trucking is a lonely and dangerous job. Young people today do not want to fill these job openings which are everywhere. Trucking schools are doing all they can to get recruits into their schools - offering $$ and many other benefits that never existed for Truckers. Its one reason why so many of the big rig truck drivers I see coming into our warehouse everyday are foreign (from countries with bad economies). Having Auto Driving Big Rig trucks would revolutionize the trucking industry and hopefully will. Shipping costs will drop drastically with not having to pay a driver which is especially huge for cross country driving. And these auto driving trucks will not have to pull over for mandatory sleep breaks. Scheduling truck driving at night when there is the least traffic would be easy to do. So many benefits. 

Its so weird - when I was a kid Trucking seemed SO cool! Think Smokey and the Bandit! That was my impression at least as a little boy. Not any more for things young ones. Maybe we need a really cool Trucking movie again like Convoy/Breaker! Breaker! / White Line Fever, or TV shows like BJ and the Bear. Have to wonder how these shows glamorized trucking back in the day and helped get new employees - a recruiting thing I suppose.

But in the mean time - go ahead and enroll in the Roadmaster Truck Driver Training School if you need a guaranteed job with benefits and decent pay. Just be prepared for a tough lonely job if your a cross country driver. I think you have about 10 years before Auto driving cross country trucking takes hold (safety / technology fixes / investment by Trucking companies into the new vehicles etc. to be ironed out). 

personally I think our country needs to majorly reinvest in the rail industry for moving more goods instead of looking to self driving trucks.  get the majority of the miles done by trains and then use local short haul drivers to finish the trips.   our interstates and highways would last a lot longer and our roads would be much less congested.  a train is so much more efficient than the same number of trucks when it comes to moving an  equal amount of freight and although train derailments and accidents happen and are tragic when they do,  they are much much safer and reliable than truck freight IMO.    we just need to break the major rail companies grip on the industry though.   burlington northern ( warren buffet) is the fucking devil to work with.