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“Robotaxis are coming” – really?
And how reliable will they be, especially in certain sensitive areas?
The Tesla boss has already stated that they can be controlled externally & unlocked …
As related here ….
But that means that their systems can be hacked, rendering the passengers potentially subject to kidnap, extortion or other nasty events. Indeed, this was a plot-point in C Stross’ SF novel “Rule 34” as far back as 2011.
Also, they are pathetically easy to halt in their tracks, if one has a good radar-reflector ….
Let’s just not, shall we?
I’m not sure I buy into Richard Brown’s vision of Robotaxis in London.
First of all I question his statement:
Like many people I’ve been to San Francisco and the streetscene is mostly grid-based and isn’t comparable to London at all. SF city has a fraction of London’s population and whilst the wider bay area might be home to a similar number of people the difference in density is off the scale.
Holding that thought, secondly there’s:
where I contend the words “even if” and “eventually” – traffic already chokes the use of private vehicles on London streets, especially outside the congestion zone at peak times. I question his grasp of the numbers involved here – we’re talking over 4 million journeys per day on the tube alone, and another 5 million on buses. With the rail services too it’s well in excess of 10 million. The idea that enough robotaxis could suddenly appear on the roads for even a slither of this number is ridiculous enough, let alone that they could be accomodated without very rapidly bringing the city to a standstill.
I could certainly see Robotaxis taking a chunk of the taxi/PHV trade in central London, and a considerable slice of private car journeys and bus journeys in the outer zones, but I also think truly autonomous vehicles successfully operating on shared public roads in London are a bit further away than he seems to believe.
This reminds me when we were considering the impact of autonomous vehicles while working on the Heathrow 3rd Runway masterplan.
At the latest, we were told, autonomous vehicle would start being roll out on a large scale by Uber and competitors within the next 10 years (maybe 20 maximum).
It was in 2015.
Jaywalking is a crime in California, although admittedly the police have to demonstrate that you created a hazard before they can cite you for it.
There is no such crime in England.
To say that SF and London are comparable urban environments is risible. Creating software to safely interact with half-cut pedestrians staggering about on a late night in the crowded streets of Soho….
IslandDweller,
Jaywalking is a crime in 49 of the 50 states of America. The reason, supposedly, for it is somewhat shocking. Apparently, it was introduced after pressure from the automobile motor manufacturers in the early days of motoring lobbying because they were worried about lawsuits when pedestrians got knocked over by cars. The solution? Get national legislation to put the onus on the pedestrian not to put themselves in a position where they can be run over. When that failed, lobby the individual states. Even the term jaywalking suggests that the pedestrian is presumed to be at fault as ‘jay’ is, or was, slang for a stupid person. So, if a motor vehicle runs you over, it is you that is the idiot.
Jaywalking is not illegal in at least Virginia, California, Utah (in Salt Lake City I have experienced cars stopping for me when I showed the slightest intimation of wanting to cross the road, even when I had no intention of doing so – but I then felt obliged to), New York City, Kansas City and Denver, so 49 states where jaywalking is illegal is a bit of an overestimate.
There was an alternative (and unsuccessful) campaign to put the blame back onto drivers and the wonderful word Flivverboob was coined as an insult for bad drivers
Betterbee,
A more detailed analysis can be found at https://www.mwl-law.com/resources/pedestrian-crosswalk-laws-50-states/ and prepared by an American Law firm. Maybe not an actual crimimal offence in many places (I was misinformed) but very onerous nevertheless.
It seems just about all states require pedestrians to yield (give way) to motorists unless at a crosswalk. So if you are halfway across a wide road and a vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly appears it is up to you to get out of the way pretty sharpish with the implication that you are to blame – even if the motorist had plenty of time to stop. Contrast this with our Highway Code which has since January 2022 emphasised the importance of all road users to be considerable to pedestrians and when crossing a minor road at a junction to a major road it is the pedestrian which has right of way.