great news: self-driving cars will obey the law! ..

[Cyril Haearn]

This will be exceedingly irritating for the vast majority of drivers, at STOP signs for example!

Grrreat!

[Guy951]

They won't be obeying the law if this BBC report is correct:

London's first driverless cars revealed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35432687

...Seven of the pods will be tested on the pavements around the Greenwich Peninsula, where the 02 Arena is based, from July...

[beardy]

This will be exceedingly irritating for the vast majority of drivers, at STOP signs for example!

Grrreat!

However, laws are very easily changed to suit the combined wishes of the motoring public and Google.

[squeaker]

They won't be obeying the law if this BBC report is correct:

London's first driverless cars revealed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35432687

...Seven of the pods will be tested on the pavements around the Greenwich Peninsula, where the 02 Arena is based, from July...

Presumably at 4mph max like mobility scooters? I can envisage a few jolly japes like a bunch of lads surrounding one and holding it captive...
(That's mobility scooters where the rider remembers the legal requirements for pavement use )

[beardy]

A few well placed bricks with those small wheels.

[gaz]

They won't be obeying the law if this BBC report is correct:

London's first driverless cars revealed...
...Seven of the pods will be tested on the pavements around the Greenwich Peninsula, where the 02 Arena is based, from July...

Starship, coming to a cycletrack near you soon?

[beardy]

I wonder if they will be better than other shopping trolleys at extricating themselves from a canal.

[rmurphy195]

I wonder if they'll recognise the advance stop lines. And whether all the lines will need repainting regularly!

[pga]

As long ago as 2012 we were being warned that car/bike/ped fights will get fiercer with driverless cars (David Albert, Greater Greater Washington (yes that is correct) 5 March 2012. Albert predicted that all road users will have to act at the convenience of the driverless cars, under constraints designed to maximise their movement instead of balancing the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

General Motors and other big motor vehicle makers are facing a growing public awareness( a bit slow in the UK)that widespread motor vehicle use is having a devastating effect on all of us. Check recent Guardian articles on air pollution. They are desperate to stay in business and see driverless vehicles, together with electric vehicles, as their lifeline to survival. As recent events show, those in power, mainly Osbourne and his Treasury pals, are in no mood to adequately fund cycling, much preferring to aid the foreign takeover of our economy by funding the Chinese to build the useless HS2, no doubt using Chinese made steel at the expense of Scunthorpe and Port Talbot steel makers.

[kwackers]

As long ago as 2012 we were being warned that car/bike/ped fights will get fiercer with driverless cars (David Albert, Greater Greater Washington (yes that is correct) 5 March 2012. Albert predicted that all road users will have to act at the convenience of the driverless cars, under constraints designed to maximise their movement instead of balancing the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

I think the reality of it is that folk just wont stand for driverless cars killing people. It's fine when human drivers kill people then that's an accident but when a machine does it then it'll be intolerable.
If you don't believe that then just wait for the furore when one does - even if it's not its fault. Threads like these give you some indication of the amount of anger just waiting to be vented...

True driverless cars are still at least a decade away, but the technology that will enable them to work and avoid collisions is appearing now so we've got plenty of time to see how it plays out.

[brooksby]

As long ago as 2012 we were being warned that car/bike/ped fights will get fiercer with driverless cars (David Albert, Greater Greater Washington (yes that is correct) 5 March 2012. Albert predicted that all road users will have to act at the convenience of the driverless cars, under constraints designed to maximise their movement instead of balancing the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

It wouldn't at all surprise me if laws came in to restrict where one can ride a bike, so as not to confused the poor ickel robot cars, and for the UK to finally bring in jaywalking laws (so that pedestrians will lawfully only be encountered in certain places). Because otherwise, it will be too confusing for the driverless cars and they won't work properly.

OT, but can someone please explain again how a self-driving car for every person will help to reduce congestion???

[squeaker]

OT, but can someone please explain again how a self-driving car for every person will help to reduce congestion???

The (city) concept is that you won't own a car (as many who live in London chose not to now) but will 'whistle up' the nearest one from the organisation you have joined (eg G-car ). It will then take you to your destination, where you can hang on to it for a while (for an extra fee) or release it. A bit like a taxi (or Uber?), but without the 'mouth' and, hopefully, better driving

[Mattyfez]

OT, but can someone please explain again how a self-driving car for every person will help to reduce congestion???

Additionaly, they won't brake late or too hard or act irrationaly forcing other drivers to panic, which causes a knock on effect back through traffic, so in theory, average speed will be slower, but journey time should *decrease

Quite an interesting site: http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/11/12/traffic-waves/

°edit (oops haha!).

[brooksby]

OT, but can someone please explain again how a self-driving car for every person will help to reduce congestion???

The (city) concept is that you won't own a car (as many who live in London chose not to now) but will 'whistle up' the nearest one from the organisation you have joined (eg G-car ). It will then take you to your destination, where you can hang on to it for a while (for an extra fee) or release it. A bit like a taxi (or Uber?), but without the 'mouth' and, hopefully, better driving

I'm not sure how that would work - I mean, the City Car Club type schemes don't exactly seem to have taken off. Surely a lot of the motor traffic is people who don't actually live in a city, but who then drive into it from the surrounding area...?

[kwackers]

I'm not sure how that would work - I mean, the City Car Club type schemes don't exactly seem to have taken off. Surely a lot of the motor traffic is people who don't actually live in a city, but who then drive into it from the surrounding area...?

Just like 'Citybikes' but with cars. Citybike schemes seem fairly successful no reason why a car scheme wouldn't be.

In essence folk already use a similar scheme but they call them 'taxis'. Imagine rows of parked cars like citybikes but without the chatty driver to pay. Quick wave of your credit card and you're on your way...
Such schemes will also almost certainly be a step to removing private city centre traffic.

Obviously there'll be a fight with the taxi drivers and you can expect a few mysterious 'fires' etc but no reason to doubt it can work or that there's a demand.