One of the biggest problems with self-driving cars, according to Bloomberg, is that they drive too perfectly. They do insane things like make full stops at stop signs and drive the speed limit. Crazy things. I’m here to make a prediction: This will make human drivers very mad. And, soon, because we deserve it, the air will be filled with the sound of drivers honking at computers. It’s going to be great!
A self-driving Lexus. Image: AP
I mean, it’s going to be total shit! People already honk at all the wrong times, mainly when they’re sitting in traffic and there’s no obvious reason why and they’re bored. Car horns should probably be illegal.
Steel yourself for more. From Bloomberg:
What they have found is that while the public may most fear a marauding vehicle without a driver behind the wheel, the reality is that the vehicles are overly cautious. They creep out from stop signs after coming to a complete stop and mostly obey the letter of the law — unlike humans.
Smoothing out that interaction is one of the most important tasks ahead for developers of the technology, says Karl Iagnemma, chief executive officer of self-driving software developer NuTonomy Inc.
“If the cars drive in a way that’s really distinct from the way that every other motorist on the road is driving, there will be in the worst case accidents and in the best case frustration,” he said.
Bloomberg goes on to outline a number of accidents involving self-driving cars; in all of the accidents, of course, the humans were at fault. Keep honking your horn though, definitely one of these days it might help.