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Re:Are self-driving cars already safer than human drivers? by JohnMakin on Friday September 01, 2023 @09:09AM (#37350352)
Of course it means something. If every reckless drunk <25 year old was replaced by autonomous driving YOUR driving experience would automatically become safer, do you see why?
Re:Are self-driving cars already safer than human drivers? by giantg2 on Friday September 01, 2023 @09:42AM (#37350733)
But that's not the paradigm unfolding here. The reckless drivers will shun self driving because they want to show off and have fun. The drunk driver part could be reduced after sufficient rollout, but we'll have to see how that plays out - the people whonaleays use it would use it when drinking too, but you'll still have people going "I'm fine to drive" and not using it if it's not habit.
Re:Are self-driving cars already safer than human drivers? by xoa on Friday September 01, 2023 @11:59AM (#37352480)
>But that's not the paradigm unfolding here.

Yes, that is the paradigm unfolding here. That is indeed one of the many critical attractions of self driving vehicles.

>The reckless drivers will shun self driving because they want to show off and have fun.

First, this is your unsourced head canon. People with drinking problems, cognitive impairment (both temporary and permanent), etc seem likely to be a far bigger percentage.

But it doesn't matter, because they won't get the choice, which again is one of the core aspects of self driving vehicles. Right now, human driving in America is a quasi-right because it's currently intrinsically tied to "personal arbitrary time/space mechanized transportation". I say "quasi-right" because while legally it's not formally a codified right or in the Constitution or something, as a practical matter if most of the population wasn't able to drive the country would fall apart. And that is recognized by government, both executive/legislative and judicial. Losing driving rights would be a major burden for tens of millions people and would disrupt their ability to get or retain jobs, in turn causing other societal expense. So traditionally government is quite hesitant to wield that stick and almost never preemptively.

Self-driving though would decouple human driving from someone having their own car and ability to have it take them where they want, when they want like right now. That in turn would completely change to political dynamics. Driving would truly become a privilege, and getting a license could become much more like class C licenses or professional emergency responder licenses or the like are. Much, much more serious training and testing, continuing ed requirements as with other professions, and much easier to lose. Because unlike right now, losing one's drivers license won't mean losing the ability to use a car. Anyone who acts recklessly at all, even if there is no damage of any kind, can just preemptively have their license rescinded until at a minimum remediation is completed. Because driving will just be a hobby.

Re:Are self-driving cars already safer than human drivers? by foooorsyth on Friday September 01, 2023 @09:21AM (#37350467)
Except that’s not the proposition for early adopters. It’s the wealthier, safer driver replacing their driving with a (clearly) unsafe, inferior autonomous system. And the 18 year old drag racers continuing to drive rusted out Civics, because that’s what they can afford. So it’s a net decrease in safety in the immediate term, with the safe drivers expected to be the primary Guinea pigs in the experiment, built on a hope and dream that the tech will actually deliver eventually.