[LINK] Error-prone

[David]

On Saturday, 5 May 2018 00:59:47 AEST Andy Farkas wrote:
> "How can we solve traffic jams, emissions and accidents? Self-driving cars!"

...or public transport!

The self-driving vehicle as a solution to peak-hour traffic jams is a fantasy which hasn't been thought through, like the one about how building more roads will do the same.  Congestion would immediately reduce (assuming the driverless regime were switched on overnight, etc.) then build up again as more people use the road.

Networking these vehicles in an effort to increase the scope of control would improve things while everything worked perfectly, though without ending congestion, but the trade-off would be really legendary foulups when it didn't.  As an example, look what happens when a truck becomes stuck in a Sydney tunnel.  It's all about the inherent compromise between performance through complexity & vulnerability.

DavidL.