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Hmmm something about a tiny automotive vehicle with a top speed of 62 mph and maybe a 80ft braking distance makes me feel more comfortable with getting into one
by JSONwebtoken 9y ago
Hmmm something about a tiny automotive vehicle with a top speed of 62 mph and maybe a 80ft braking distance makes me feel more comfortable with getting into one.
Certainly a higher error tolerance and lower risk of fatality as compared to a 5000 lb Tesla that goes to 0-60 in 2.4 seconds and takes a football field and a half to slow down.
Maybe they should just make all self-driving cars weigh 1500 lbs and top out at 45 mph. Not a big deal when they run into each other, like bumper cars.
- PaulRobinson 9y agoI don't know what the bumper cars were like where you grew up, but a crash at 45mph, or even 20mph, is not quite the same thing and considerably less enjoyable. :-)
- JSONwebtoken 9y agoI get rear ended about twice a year in LA traffic by 4500 lb SUVs going 40-50 mph. I've learned to adjust the headrest on my seat properly so my head only jerks back an inch or two and I don't get whiplash anymore. I think collisions below 40 mph are quite survivable if they're not two-way head on/overlap and the cars are below a certain weight and designed to bounce against each other. They just need to make every autonomous car on the road 1500-2000lb and install rubber bumpers. The neural net will figure it out itself after a few million real world collisions and daily commutes will gradually become less jarring and eventful.
- BoorishBears 9y agoHave you seen the crash tests on these cars? I wouldn't trust them not to permanently injure you in a collision at 20 mph.
- mikeash 9y agoA football field and a half? A Tesla's stopping distance, like most decent modern cars, is a bit over 100ft from 60MPH.
- freeone3000 9y agoBraking distance in a Tesla is shorter in practice than what they're claiming here. Sports cars, even the luxury sports-lite that Tesla ends up in, are easier to stop than the average car.