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A comment on Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never happen'. Parent comment

Re:Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never ... by nostrademons on Sunday January 19, 2020 @01:22AM (#22089790)
The impetus will be wartime, just as the impetus for the interstate highway system and most of the railway system was wartime.

In peacetime, self-driving cars are a nice-to-have that can save many billions of driver hours and a few traffic fatalities. In wartime, they're literally a matter of life or death. The side that can handle all of their logistics without exposing their precious humans to enemy fire has a huge advantage over the one whose supply lanes can get picked off one by one.

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Re:Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never ... by RayVR on Sunday January 19, 2020 @01:59AM (#22089895)
This argument is tough to swallow. The real push to build interstate highways was in early 1950s and began in earnest in 1956. National defense was only one piece of the justification for the project.
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Re:Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never ... by nostrademons on Sunday January 19, 2020 @02:26AM (#22089975)
The origins of the interstate highway system in defense is well-documented in the historical record, and the title of the bill authorizing it was the "National Interstate and Defense Highways Act":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Aid_Highway_Act_of_195...

There were of course other civilian concerns as well, but Eisenhower's arguments at the time of the plan primarily cited the importance of Germany's autobahn system during WW2 as a justification.

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Re:Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never ... by blub on Sunday January 19, 2020 @02:19AM (#22089948)
Dropping bombs on smart highways seems much easier than hitting a moving vehicle.
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Re:Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never ... by nostrademons on Sunday January 19, 2020 @02:23AM (#22089964)
Relatively futile, though, when a self-driving cement mixer comes along, patches the crater, and restores any guidechips needed for other vehicles to navigate.
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Re:Volkswagen exec admits full self-driving cars 'may never ... by Thorrez on Sunday January 19, 2020 @02:49AM (#22090046)
If a road is too dangerous for humans to drive on due to enemy fire, I would expect the conditions of the road to be much worse than American roads today.
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