Good News for Motorcyclists--Eventually

[SacramentoMike]

The article linked below from Bloomberg.com came to my attention because I was the nearest motorcycle rider the guy who showed it to me knew personally. I don't suppose it's talking about the immediate future, but it's not far-out science fiction either. In a nutshell, self-driving cars (getting pretty close in California) will make riding safer! Makes sense--these robo-cars will "see" us better thanks to electronics, radar, whatever, won't be distracted, and won't be weaving all over their lanes. Or between lanes. In states that allow legal lane splitting (hoping the number of such states will grow from the current one by the time cars like this are more common), self-driving cars will make an even more dramatic difference.

They make the point that with the increased safety, more people will be encouraged to switch to bikes, which will result in less congestion. The old "one less car" theory put forth on bumper stickers and t-shirts for years.

One last thing. As cars get safer and more boring to "drive" (since people won't even really be driving them at all), the margin of fun enjoyed by riders over cagers in getting around will only grow wider than ever.

Click here for the article. Something to look forward to.

 

[RossKean]

In the future where robot cars are mandated because they are safer, will "manually driven" motorcycles be made illegal because they are (relatively) dangerous?

 

[wheatonFJR]

In the future where robot cars are mandated because they are safer, will "manually driven" motorcycles be made illegal because they are (relatively) dangerous?

uuummm, yeah.

2 points for Ross.

 

[marcusorelius]

I'm still waiting for my flying car, & jet pack, I was told I would have in the future when I was a kid!

 

[gregory]

I agree with Mike and Ross. New safety features provide braking for distracted drivers, blind spot warnings (I have seen these in the side mirrors of newer cars...a light lights up to warn the driver I am there as I pass them. A pretty cool feature, but I assume they will eventually be background noise to the distracted driver during the day.). I am sure there are a few more that I am unaware of. These features do indeed increase our safety from these idiots hurling down the road in their own little bubble of me. In addition to these safety features is in vehicle WIFI. awesome.

Self driving cars are a natural progression as "we" are deemed unfit to drive on our own become a logical step (safer, less deaths no DUI's ect). That progression spells certain doom for motorcyclists as they can't be made "self driving".

Enjoy 'em while we can.......

 

[Geezer]

I am looking forward to the day when automatic braking is mandatory for all cars so I won't have to look before pulling out of my driveway.

More seriously, experience has shown that when we make something idiot proof someone comes along and makes a better idiot. People will find a way to behave in ways that are not expected nor anticipated by the design of the self-driving vehicles. So, I believe we are still a long way from the day that we can trust the machine.

 

[Fred W]

As driving skill becomes unnecessary in order to drive a car, drivers will naturally evolve and become less skilled. Even though they may be on autopilot most of the time, there will be circumstances where the driver will need to take over manual control. Those times will become increasingly scary.

I do not see this as good news for anyone

 

[wheatonFJR]

As driving skill becomes unnecessary in order to drive a car, drivers will naturally evolve and become less skilled. Even though they may be on autopilot most of the time, there will be circumstances where the driver will need to take over manual control. Those times will become increasingly scary.
I do not see this as good news for anyone

Fred,

You seem to be deviating from the norm. Please report to Sector 7 for decommissioning.

 

[dcarver]

No worries. The automated motorbike is just around the corner.

 

[wheatonFJR]

No worries. The automated motorbike is just around the corner.

Can you say TRON?

 

[TomInPA]

Even as fully autonomous cars are being introduced, there will continue to be millions of legacy driven cars and trucks on the road. No congress will act to take these vehicles and drivers off the road. The hazards caused by these drivers interacting with autonomous vehicles and motorcycles will continue to make the roads dangerous for the remainder of our lifetimes. As experienced motorcyclists there is a great deal we can do to reduce risks, and some things we simply cannot control. Overall, I think technology may reduce our risks eventually, but as long as there are a substantial number of human driven cars and trucks, we continue to have relatively high risk.

Distracted driving is currently our number one problem. Only 14 states prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. You want to save lives, change that to 50 states.

 

[wheatonFJR]

When alcohol bottles are outlawed, only outlaws will have bottles.

 

[SacramentoMike]

In the future where robot cars are mandated because they are safer, will "manually driven" motorcycles be made illegal because they are (relatively) dangerous?

Yep. But only In Canada, at first. Prob'ly.

Hey, just wanted to give you slackers somethin' to worry about.

And here's how beautifully traffic will move once all the cars are self-driving! (Click the arrow to start.)

By the way, once again, the Chinese are way ahead of us.

 

[Madmudder]

In the future where robot cars are mandated because they are safer, will "manually driven" motorcycles be made illegal because they are (relatively) dangerous?

Yep. But only In Canada, at first. Prob'ly.

Hey, just wanted to give you slackers somethin' to worry about.

And here's how beautifully traffic will move once all the cars are self-driving! (Click the arrow to start.)

I rode like that 30 yrs ago. it wasn't until I became a parent that I started riding the way I do now

 

[FJRBluesman]

Veeeery interesting...

 

[Cyclepath]

I agree with Fred. I've thought mandatory driver/operator retesting should have been implemented a decade ago.

While a refined ABS system can be a great safety aid, it is still a skilled operator using experience, discipline, and common sense that should remain in control if you ask me.

This is a bizarre 21st century experience now, where the majority of people seem to embrace the novelty of something marketed for convenience at the expense of the real experience.

In my not so humble opinion, if you don't want to drive, take a bus or train, and let the rest of us carry on as we are.

 

[El Toro]

I retired this year (in honor of Don Stanley). During the last few years of my engineering/teaching career, one of the great disappointments was to watch skills drop out of the college age population. In senior level engineering classes students were not afraid to argue that "I don't need to know that because I can google it on my phone." I could tell story after story about the inability to do simple math (like add two five figure numbers, or divide 1 by 5), but I won't. Remember ... my population of students were seniors in mechanical engineering at an institution with degree programs through the doctoral level.

So the wave of people who do not want to have a skill because a machine will take care of it is growing, with a huge swell in the current 20 something group.

I think this is self limiting, unless someone actually does come up with true artificial intelligence so that the machines can truly archive, curate, and add to the knowledge base. And then humans will no longer be at the top of the food chain, at least not as a group. There may be elite overlords who control technology, but if the machines get smart enough, they'll eventually be displaced.

In any event, I've always believed that there may be such a thing as artificial intelligence ... but I have no doubt that all stupidity is genuine. And there is plenty of it to go around. It is easier to infuse potentially bright folks with stupidity than it is to infuse less bright folks with intelligence, so I'm not holding my breath for miracles.

 

[mech 1 twa]

Who will drive your car when the power grid is down? Satellites are blocked by thunder storm?

These things never HAPPEN.

What ever happened to common sense?

We will be unsafe , a road hazard to all the normal people. OUTLAWS.

Cost to much to insure US. Health coverage. $$$$$$

Hang up and drive. Texting and driving. Number 1 issue.

Many younger people will never KNOW the freedom, we had in the 60-70' S

 

[HotRodZilla]

Dumbasses today have problems stealing certain cars because they are too stupid to drive a stick. Imagine how bad it will be in 20 years.