Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without an accident

Re:Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without a... by Goronmon on Tuesday August 07, 2012 @04:48PM (#4352203)

The problem for me isn't commuting, it's having to invest so much money into a huge pile of metal and plastic that someone distracted by someone or something in their own pile of metal and plastic can destroy in an instance, possibly killing me and anyone with me. Or maybe I get distracted and the result is similar.

I just don't see the few cases where it's enjoyable to be worth the other costs. I'd consider it similar to smoking in that regard.

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Re:Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without a... by nitrogen on Tuesday August 07, 2012 @05:29PM (#4352408)

Feel free to refrain from driving, in that case; just don't get in the way (in a legal sense) of those who still want to.

Smoking is a much greater nuisance than driving, because a nearby smoker will foul the air for a fairly large radius through no choice of the people around them. Driving only affects other people who choose to be on the road.

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Re:Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without a... by clarky07 on Tuesday August 07, 2012 @05:37PM (#4352463)

Comparing to smoking seems to be a huge stretch to me. One thing virtually guarantees cancer and an eventual unpleasant death while providing no measurable benefits at all, and the other allows you to easily travel all over the place cheaply with a relatively small chance of a major accident.

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Re:Google's Autonomous cars complete 300,000 miles without a... by icebraining on Tuesday August 07, 2012 @08:23PM (#4353171)

virtually guarantees cancer

That's not true at all, the incidence rate of lung cancer in smokers is less than 20%. That's still much higher than for non-smokers (0.4% - 2%), but hardly a "virtual guarantee".

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