ralphchadkirk
Established Member
And given that the police are suffering cuts at the moment, just how many officers will consider it to be a valuable use of their time to prosecute someone who's done a **** in a car?
For you maybe but for new drivers the cost is getting to be unaffordable. I doubt many can afford £4000 for a 1.25 Fiesta.I pay £350 a year on a car with a 2.5ltr turbocharged engine. I don't see that as expensive at all. The £240 VED isn't that much* either (except I do very low mileage, so it works out more per-mile than for someone using a car every day). However, the £1.49 I paid last week for Super Unleaded IS a lot.
Insurance is NOT the reason people will get rid of their cars!
It wouldn't be possible to deny when a log of the journey is made.And if the person fined denies any involvement?
There would a failsafe system to detect any failure and stop the car safely.And if the robotically moving child seat malfunctions, or doesn't lock into place properly?
In fact, if anything at all goes wrong with the vehicle - how does the person(s) report this fact? Will it have voice recognition (Siri or HAL style) to respond instantly, or will it require making a phone call or using a smartphone app.. and then what, waiting for a replacement vehicle to turn up?
That will depend on the demand at the time.How many vehicles do you envisage being needed nationally, of different types, for every eventuality?
If new drivers can't afford insurance then it's inevitable that eventually no-one will be driving at all. I doubt many would consider a 1.25 Fiesta to be a dream car or £4000 to be affordable.I'd love to know how you keep thinking insurance will force everyone off the road one day. New drivers can get affordable insurance if they don't mind not owning their dream car from day one. We were ALL new drivers once you know.
People wouldn't need to go out for that, the items could be delivered.Finally, the customer now has to predict demand and book in advance to pop out and get some more nappies, milk, bread or whatever? Just to be on the safe side...
Not if they are ill and sick, this situation would be more likely if someone was seen deliberately urinating in the car.If a car locked the occupants in while driving to a police station (which it knows is open and staffed, and there's enough fuel to get to) then I am sure we'll see the operator (maybe the Government) sued for false imprisonment. And what if someone is sick in the car due to illness - they'll get thrown in jail?
If new drivers can't afford insurance then it's inevitable that eventually no-one will be driving at all. I doubt many would consider a 1.25 Fiesta to be a dream car or £4000 to be affordable.
People wouldn't need to go out for that, the items could be delivered.
Not if they are ill and sick, this situation would be more likely if someone was seen deliberately urinating in the car.
No, a vehicle would be dispatched to you with your order.These cars can go shopping too? Wow.
As I have said above, look how far technology has advanced to the way things are today. What may seem difficult now likely won't be in the future.How will a sensor know what is deliberate and what isn't? And can I be the first to suggest that these driverless cars should concentrate more on what's going on OUTSIDE the vehicle than inside?!
Even if you halve that to a £2000 quote which I know quite a few people have had, it's still not going to be very affordable for 17 year olds. Quotes of over £4000 for small cars do occur, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jun/19/teenage-car-insuranceMost new drivers would love to own a car like that as their first car and wouldn't pay anywhere near £4000.
No, a vehicle would be dispatched to you with your order.
OMG, it's time for me to call it a day on this.
You may well think that but the reality of the situation is that it is not a problem in general, just a personal inconvenience to some people.
So, you would have to scrap every single car on the roads, and produce millions of new ones, wasting an obscene amount of resources in the process.This would be offset by the number of cars in total that would need to be produced and maintained.
And what about when the sensors fail?It could be detected by sensors and reported automatically. It would also be a possibility to have the doors lock and the car drive the offenders straight to the police station.
So, you're planning on there not being enough capacity to meet the needs of everyone at peak time.There would be enough vehicles to meet the demand but this would still be less vehicles in total than everyone having their own. There would be times when demand is exceptionally high that the wait could be longer, in which case you should book in advance.
In other words, you don't know where the money would come from.I don't expect the investment to be from a single source but considering the clear safety and environmental benefits I would expect some government investment. The developers of the technology are also likely to invest as they are set to benefit from its use.
And when the sensors and/or reporting system fails?It would be automatically reported and responded to.
There's still the possibility.It wouldn't be a single computer system. You would have several computers working with each other and if there is an error in one then the remaining computers can vote it out. The chances of all of the computers failing at the same time would be extremely low.
What if you're doing a really long journey that will require more fuel than the car can hold?The vehicles are not likely to run our of fuel just like that as when you call one you would request it for a specific journey and it would ensure that it was had the fuel for the journey before it arrived.
Computers do not have the same decision making ability as a human. They can only make their judgements based on what you tell them, they can't react to a developing situation other than how they have been told to.Humans are certainly not infallible and it's likely in the future that computers will be much more reliable and able to deal with the situation better than a human driver could.
An order would be placed and a drivlerless vehicle could be dispatched from a distribution centre after robots have loaded it.Who gets the order? It's driverless. Who gets out to go and get the items? Or does it drive in to the store and pick the items off the shelf with the same robotic arms that put the child seats in place?
I live near Ocado, and they have robots to pick items from what I've read. Maybe the driverless car can go there to pick up goods? Shame these depots aren't exactly plentiful (one central location for a large part of the South East in the case of Ocado).
The possibility of an accident due to all of the computers failing at the same time would be much lower than if a human was driving the car.There's still the possibility.
In a vehicle with no manual control, and no override system? No thanks, I'll drive my own car.
At this time yes but in the future it may well be that computers will be more able to deal with the situation than humans can.Computers do not have the same decision making ability as a human. They can only make their judgements based on what you tell them, they can't react to a developing situation other than how they have been told to.
Clearly, Zoe doesn't even have a driving licence, let alone a car.And, whoops, seems like you forgot to answer my question about how much you pay for car insurance and what car you drive.
So you would need even more cars to deliver people's shopping?People wouldn't need to go out for that, the items could be delivered.
How would that work then? Would you have people sitting at a bank of screens watching every single person using one of these cars?Not if they are ill and sick, this situation would be more likely if someone was seen deliberately urinating in the car.
Zoe, what do you drive, what group and how much to insure it?
Please answer.
I have never said anything on this subject.Clearly, Zoe doesn't even have a driving licence, let alone a car.
No, these would be vans. They wouldn't just drive to one person with an order and then back.So you would need even more cars to deliver people's shopping?
Sensors could detect any soiling of the car and alert operators to monitor the car and take action if needed in the short term. In the long term computers may even be able to reliably judge what the person has done.How would that work then? Would you have people sitting at a bank of screens watching every single person using one of these cars?
The issue here is a general one. Insurance is getting to be unaffordable for new drivers.Zoe, what do you drive, what group and how much to insure it?
Please answer.
Exactly.I have never said anything on this subject.
What about all the people whose jobs you are taking away?No, these would be vans. They wouldn't just drive to one person with an order and then back.
And yet, new drivers are still driving.The issue here is a general one. Insurance is getting to be unaffordable for new drivers.
Quite.Oh. My. God.
Would there even be any jobs at all in the future with extensive automation?What about all the people whose jobs you are taking away?
But may not be for much longer if the cost of insurance continues to increase.And yet, new drivers are still driving.
There's nothing clear about it at all.Exactly.
Clearly you have neither.
I would expect that you would request a journey and you would then be transported to a transfer node likely on the edge of a town where you and other people would transfer to a larger form of transport for the intercity part of your journey. There wouldn't be any need for separate cars to travel to the same location when a more efficient alternative is available. This intercity part could even be by rail. You would be billed for the entire journey.What sort of cost would I be looking at for a 330 mile journey? Would I be charged per mile or by the hour
[*]It is about a 7 hour drive, how would comfort stops be accounted for... Would I be charged for the time spent getting food or would I be expected to unload the car and
[*]Would the vehicle have to be repatriated to its home area or would it be one nationwide pool. How would you deal with honeypot areas without leaving others short. Would vehicles return empty or look for journeys heading back to their home area?
[*]If Electric cars are used how would you arrange any en-route recharges that might be needed
They've been saying that for years, but young drivers are still finding ways round it. Not to mention the ones who just don't bother about insurance because it's too expensive.But may not be for much longer if the cost of insurance continues to increase.
Your silence on the matter says it all.There's nothing clear about it at all.
Like "fronting" which is illegal.They've been saying that for years, but young drivers are still finding ways round it.
The fact it's illegal doesn't stop people doing it, though.Like "fronting" which is illegal.
I would expect that you would request a journey and you would then be transported to a transfer node likely on the edge of a town where you and other people would transfer to a larger form of transport for the intercity part of your journey. There wouldn't be any need for separate cars to travel to the same location when a more efficient alternative is available. This intercity part could even be by rail. You would be billed for the entire journey.
You would state your load when you place the order so a suitable vehicle can be dispatched to you and space reserved on intercity transport. A charge could then be calculated based on that.Per person or per pod load?
Until they are caught.The fact it's illegal doesn't stop people doing it, though.
Until they are caught.
I doubt the cost would increase significantly until you start having to request a larger vehicle. It wouldn't be a case of five people travelling costing five times as much as one person. The overall costs would be set to encourage groups of people to travel.I take a car full of friends and it works out as £2-3 each! Is charging groups more going to work when the current marginal cost of an extra car passenger is tiny. I don't fancy shelling out an extra £30-£50 for an overnight stop
To encourage group travel it may well be that there would be a fixed price for up to five people to travel or only a small charge for each additional person (up to five) in the group to travel. The transport would run when there is demand which I think would be there if there were no private cars on the road. Capacity would of course need to be provided for this.But as you said you would expect people to transfer to a larger vehicle (a train or coach) for intercity trips, would those be charged per person?
And would these trains/coaches run 24/7 and would there be the capacity if all intercity motorists switched...
It could be an idea to provide single seated automated vehicles.Zoe - what about scooters and motorbikes?
Will they be banned?
This would suggest that there is a case for better enforcement.Clearly, as the chances of being caught are so low, it's considered to be worth taking the risk.
Yet another type of vehicle that will have to be bought to add to fleet. :roll:It could be an idea to provide single seated automated vehicles.
By whom?This would suggest that there is a case for better enforcement.