[Nfbmo] California tells Uber to shut down 'illegal' self-driving car ...
DanFlasar at aol.com
DanFlasar at aol.com
Sat Dec 17 04:57:08 UTC 2016
I certainly do understand the appeal of new technologies, but I'd put the
brakes on a national system of driverless cars. Not a surprise that Uber
is spearheading it - it's the perfect solution to their burgeonging labor
issues contesting the companies unfair labor standards - get rid of the
drivers!
Several months ago I sent out a post that advised against using Uber
or Lyft, but after spending a lot of time looking into the real condition
of local ride services, I urge all who use Uber to tip their driver -
they're being driben to bankruptcy by the companies overhiring and capricious
mileage rates. At one time, ride-share drivers could do fairly well, but
overcompetition from 'contract' drivers is driving up costs and cutting into
available riders. Give the driver a tip - you may not have him for long.
The idea of 'smart' highways has been in tech news for years, in one
form or another, but whatever the plan, it will involve very high changes
to the roadway infrastructure, which we taxpayers will pay for but which
will benefit a few monopolies like Uber and Lyft. At least the interstate
highway system was a public utility, paid for with our taxes, but without the
added costs of private control of the roadways. Anyone remember the days
when cell phone roaming fees were so high because some tower owners could
charge whatever they wanted - sometimes $10/minute or more!
Why not take the money and improve our mass transit system,
especially in rural areas, as so many other countries have done?
It's one thing to write computer code that might cause problems with a
database or a spreadsheet but putting your life at the mercy of
algorithms? In addition to eliminating a significant component of the labor force
(or in plain terms, jobs), we will also find ourselves unwitting alpha- and
beta-testers for an impossibly complex new system. There is as yet no
agreed upon legal framework to identify who pays what in the event of an
accident.
The number of variables involved in driving is enormous - even
trains, which at least can only navigate limited railways, still have to have an
engineer. Incorporating road conditions, traffic, pedestrians, weather,
visibility and other drivers is staggering.
There was a joke some years ago about technology: if cars evolved as
much as computers have in terms of cost, size format and power, we will all
be able to buy a car for $5, drive 1000 miles per hour, can fit one in
our pocket and crash twice an hour.
So you really want to ride in a vehicle run by Windows 10?
Polemics aside, much of the country has no decent transit system -
especially outside of large urban areas, which overburdens those who for one
reason or another cannot drive. But what, exactly, is the benefit of a
driverless car, really, other than to eliminate labor issues. Though your per
trip cost may be cheaper (always a good thing), we will still bear the
costs in terms of various taxes and fees, only to benefit a few very large
players.
There's a reason San Francisco stopped Uber as fast as they did.
Dan Flasar
PS: I still regret that I didn't buy a $25 ticket for a commercial
suborbital flight offered by a coupon on a bottle of Tang.
However, the placement of the homes is not consistent with the address
sequencing. So, one would have to know which house that is being looked for
by description. It is not possible for these companies to map everything
accurately, and so, I wonder how they are going to address it. In my
employment, I have gone to some very isolated areas that were confusing to find
for a human who could think through what appears to be an illogical
situation.
I believe that this will be a great accomplishment for people of all
abilities. It is very, very exciting.
Roger
Sent from my iPhone
> On Dec 16, 2016, at 7:08 AM, Gary Wunder via Nfbmo <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
>
> What is so interesting about self driving cars is the unresolved issue
about
> whether they will be self driving or be self driving with a human backup.
> Some of the companies involved in this research believe that it is
unsafe to
> rely on a human driver in the event that the computer guidance system has
> difficulty. In the meetings I have been in the companies promoting these
> vehicles say that you can't have it both ways: if a person is in a self
> driving car, he or she will not pay attention to the road in the same way
> that a normal driver would. They say that they are unequivocally opposed
to
> putting out systems that can do 95% of what needs to be done and relying
on
> human beings to fill the gap.
>
> In the case of one company I have had the pleasure to work with, they
> claimed that their vehicles had driven over 350,000 miles and that the
only
> accident recorded was when one of their vehicles was rear ended by
another.
>
> I think legislators and regulators need to think not only about the
> technology but the psychology behind a self driving vehicle. Not only do
I
> want to one day be able to go from point X to point why without relying
on
> someone else, but I want the safety that can be a part of a computerized
> system that is not distracted by a noise in the backseat, by trying to
> rubberneck when going by a fire, or by trying to text and drive. These
are
> exciting times.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Garcia
via
> Nfbmo
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 8:41 PM
> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List (nfbmo at nfbnet.org)
> Cc: Daniel Garcia
> Subject: [Nfbmo] California tells Uber to shut down 'illegal'
self-driving
> car service in San Francisco
>
> Source:
>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/12/14/uber-expands-s
> elf-driving-car-service-to-a-second-city/?utm_term=.0e765e2b0635
>
>
> Uber expanded its self-driving car service to San Francisco on Wednesday,
> but state regulators are calling for a halt. (Courtesy of Uber)
>
> Not even a full day after Uber launched its self-driving service in San
> Francisco did California regulators tell the company to shut it down.
>
> The California Department of Motor Vehicles threatened legal action,
telling
> the company that it must first obtain a special permit to test autonomous
> vehicles on the state's roadways.
>
> Uber launched the service Wednesday morning and acknowledged at the time
> that it might run afoul of state regulators. The company had declined to
> obtain a permit on the grounds that its cars require human monitoring and
> thus do not meet the state's definition of an autonomous vehicle, a
> spokeswoman said early Wednesday.
>
> The DMV disagreed. It called Uber's program illegal and demanded the
company
> cease operations until it received a permit that would require the
company
> to prove that it is financially responsible, has qualified drivers, and
will
> report collisions and other safety information to state regulators.
>
> "These requirements serve to build public trust in the safety of the
> technology and to foster confidence in allowing autonomous vehicles on
> public streets," Brian Soublet, the department's deputy director and
chief
> counsel, wrote in a letter.
>
> A spokeswoman for the company did not immediately respond to a request
for
> comment on the letter. Uber said earlier Wednesday that it hoped
California
> would see the merits of its self-driving vehicle program, including the
> potential to improve traffic safety, and not create barriers to
innovation.
>
> "Pittsburgh, Arizona, Nevada and Florida in particular have been leaders
in
> this way, and by doing so have made clear that they are pro technology.
Our
> hope is that California, our home state and a leader in much of the
world's
> dynamism, will take a similar view," Anthony Levandowski, the head of
Uber's
> advanced technology group, wrote on the blog.
>
> Uber began matching a small number of riders with vehicles that rely on
> Uber's self-driving technology rather than human drivers on Wednesday
> morning. Those vehicles still had a safety driver on board who can take
> control if necessary, as well as a company engineer.
>
>
>
>
> San Francisco is the second city in the country to officially test Uber's
> service, which the company has said will be critical to the future of
both
> ride hailing and urban transportation. Uber first deployed self-driving
> vehicles in Pittsburgh three months ago.
>
> "With its challenging roads and often varied weather, Pittsburgh
provided a
> wide array of experiences. San Francisco comes with its own nuances
> including more bikes on the road, high traffic density and narrow lanes,"
> Levandowski wrote on the blog.
>
> The rollout in San Francisco started with just a handful of self-driving
> vehicles, and was expected to gradually scale up as more cars become
> available, a spokeswoman said. Uber has a partnership with Volvo to
provide
> the company's self-driving vehicles, including the newly released XC90,
> which comes equipped with a system of lasers and cameras for guidance.
>
> Only users with a credit card tied to a San Francisco address are
eligible
> for the program. Those who are matched with a self-driving car will
receive
> an alert that allows them to learn more about the program or opt out, a
> spokeswoman said.
>
> Uber is the second Silicon Valley company to make self-driving car news
this
> week. Google announced Tuesday that its self-driving car project would be
> spun off into a separate company, called Waymo. The move is a sign that
the
> company intends to bring the technology to market, though an exact
timeline
> remains unclear.
>
>
>
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