Maybe self driving cars should put passengers in real jeopardy to see what happens

MAYBE SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES SHOULD PUT MORE PEOPLE IN JEOPARDY

Certainly, one is not suggesting we don’t develop relevant and effective safety standards for the emerging  forms of transportation?  Certainly, one is not suggesting  that engineers ignore passenger safety by  using brittle glass body designs with no seat belts or air bags?  How about  speedometers and other. Gauges—get rid of these too?  

HELL NO—all of these things are very necessary.

Now stop for a moment and think of the “Jeopardy” perspective—not safety—the game show. 

What happens in the show?  

All correct answers must come in the form of a question.

Here is where the  vehicles could  get a clue “buy a vowel” so to speak.  Maybe instead of the global  race to incorporate in order  to make tech grabs and market expansions, IT’S TIME TO UNDERSTAND THAT SUCCESS WILL COME IN THE FORM  OF ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

To date I have seen multiple partnerships and mergers, a stream of tech acquisitions etc.  What I have not seen is a single questionnaire from a major  vehicle. Manufacturer asking useful questions like?

How do we design these  vehicle to maximize their utility for the widest range of  dpassengers or navigators?  What geographic  areas are in the category that might. Be considered  “underserved” by current options and how  does the vehicle we produce close the cultural and economic. Gaps  created by uneven distributions of current options? How can multi family purchase or lease  agreements become  commonplace so that single occupant. Vehicles can sometimes. Be available, but always be the norm?  

What are the  possibilities of converting our current transportation options into self driving, accessible, affordable, and environmentally less harmful options?

It is sad thatthe general public, you know the people who might use vehicles in the future, are not being asked by the manufacturers to help answer the questions above.  

Do the car makers intend to just invent a bunch of options and say “here.” “Pick what you feel 100% comfortable with and can afford?  If that’s the case, then citizens have lost an important opportunity to help shape their future prospects in the area of”getting places independently and safely.  

Listen very closely and you can hear Alex calmly reveal the final Jeopardy answer/clue

The most effective way to solve issues in transportation transformation that could start immediately

And the correct answer/question would be.

EVERY maker of existing and emergent  transportations enterprises can do is ....

ASK THE PEOPLE. WHO WILL USE IT. WHAT THEY. NEED!!!

So far, however. GM, Ford, Volvo , Toyota WAYMO, and Now Apple haven’t. Made a concerted effort to do so and  time is running out....so we may all be in final Jeopardy of. Losing the best  chance of improving thins since we decided to leave our horses in their pasture and  take out the horseless carriage.  

Unfortunately, the winnners and losers will not be limited to  three game show contestants—it will impact the entire planet.

Pepperoni priorities or sausage silliness and self driving

DRIVERLESS PIZZA?  Should  Pepperoni with Sausage really be our Priority?

A popular pizza chain has started a buzz about  a goal of having  deliveries completed by autonomous vehicles.  

Now I like pizza. More than some and as much as the average American at least—and have never developed a long-term attachment  to a particular driver so this is nothing personal.  The  reality here is that there are people out there who can’t get places like doctor’s  appointments, school events, family reunions etc because transportation options are  not accessible or affordable and now scientists and engineers are going to be focusing. Time on getting my  hand-tossed pie delivered in 30 minutes or less?  

I am not much for. Government regulating. Things, however, maybe we could figure out a way. For  me to order a pizza and have the delivery car pick up a couple of friends along the way?  

Maybe we could. Impose a $1.00  surcharge to be  used to make affordable. Accessible. Options possible  through the sale of  cheeses bread and a veggie supreme?    Maybe a drone delivered. Happy meal could make someone. Happy because it  came with a 50 cent  charge that guaranteed  assistive technology for. All citizens who  truly can’t afford  iPhones and mobile plans?  

The point I’m making is about. People vs. profit or people and profit.  Maybe a  food vendor  could have driverless delivery if they hired a. Certain  percentage of. Underemployed  citizens?   I don’t know it just seems we need to have some innovative through  around the policies here.  Are we going to have a food delivery lane on the Santa Monica  Freeway? 

I’m not going to beat a dead horse, because. The horse didn’t. Cause the lack of thinking. Here...but  what happens when. A frat orders a pizza car and the neighboring frat  kidnaps it or  just accidentally interrupts its mission...not like that would happen right?

Okay all I’m going to say is let’s. Make some socially responsible decisions about the use of our resources ok?

But if we can’t I’ll take my technology with extra cheese—thanks

No news is good news? Or not exclamation

WHAT’S NEW IN SELF-DRIVING THIS WEEK?

Well there is a real temptation to just leave the rest of this blog  blank.  However, in following the news two or three significant  themes  stood out and merit some mention if only briefly.  

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

There are a growing number of reports that  drivers in traditional  vehicles are k taunting and testing  the self-driving  vehicles’ abilities  in several cities.  I find this a bit strange and amusing since the self-driving vehicles. Have no sentiment and thus are. Not emotionally impacted by the behavior of these bullying drivers at all.  This is literally useless rage against the machine.  My hope is that they don’t put other drivers at risk with  the unorthodox driving meant to confuse. The autonomous vehicles.  I wonder if these same people. Still have a landline a TV set with an antenna, and an outhouse?  Oh well...

FEDERAL LAW MAKERS  STILL SLOW TO  ACT ON A NATIONAL  POLICY OR LAW

National lawmakers slow to dress  infrastructure matters —and transportation is probably the most critical of all of these, is not moving anywhere in our nation’s. Capitol.  There are a lot of places where. The lawmakersa could start chewing  on little chunks of this, however, because it is a big  matter they are  taking the  traditional stance of. Let’s. Do nothing whatsoever.  Meanwhile state after state put together their own  mandates and in ways jockey for position to align with certain  mandates that will invite companies to  come to their states.  For example, Florida has pretty much. Cleared the way for fully  “driverless.”  Well, I guess  that makes some sense since  snow on the roads is not likely to create difficulties, however, a lot of residents in Florida live there only part of the year.  Will these. Folks own a different car for  Baltimore where they spend the  summer?  Or perhaps will you order a Tesla B.O. the B standing for Baltimore and the  O for  Orlando?  Well the point is the feds are falling further behind.

WAYMO unleashes Jag

WAYMO which has been seen. Sort of as the soccer mom of driverless cars having most of their  vehicles  dedicated to multi passenger  minivan types  is breathing life into a Jag and thus. Will be competing with the  Tesla in the”I’m cool” space of self-driving.  Now that’s. Okay, however, what concerns me is that no one is  competing over the. Accessibility. Marketplace where  the utility of  self-driving  could impact. The real mobility of people with disabilities and the elderly.  No one is addressing rural mobility to any great extent either, so unless I’m wrong and these Jags are. Being equipped as  4X4 10. Passenger limos, the same. People  who are left behind are  getting farther. And farther in the. Rear view mirror again.  

So like I said nothing new to report...Ihopeit changers sooon

Are you ready for your iCar 3

ARE YOU READY FOR  YOUR iCAR?

 Several  sources  have reported that  Apple  is   jumping into the  self-driving. Market by acquiring cash starved start-up talent.  To many this would seem sort of like a “so what” event as Google has been in this a for years and this transportation sector has been filled. With mergers and  buy-outs from the very  beginning.  Well maybe.  

On the Other Hand— when it comes to disability access, Apple has, until recent improvements by Microsoft, far exceeded  competitors in  making  things ready to use out of the box for people with disabilities.  

In fact, the user experience is the platform upon which Apple builds all its products.  

It is  not hard to imagine a day in the next five years that you will pull your phone out and a vehicle will appear  knowing who you are instantly upload your music playlists and your destination and  maybe all the accesasaibility features you already use will pop on automatically on  control screens in the ICar or on your mobile device.  

Well, hopefully  Apple  Will continue  its leadership in access as it moves into this market.  This blog has already praised Microsoft for its recent development of accessible  products and  pleaded them  to extend those into the car market.  Perhaps this will prompt Microsoft to. Do just that.  It would be great to have a three way battle between Apple, Microsoft, and Google to see how accessible and usable they could make this  new form of transport for people with disabilities. And all others for that matter.  

Anyway I for one can’t wait to see  iCar 3S rolling down the street  one day soon. 

Answers to all your questions about self driving vehicles: yes we would like to have them too

ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS. ABOUT. SELF-DRIVING  CARS—Well Maybe. Not

Well the latest poll results are out and ...some percentage of  the population somewhere  don’t trust  autonomous vehicles.

Car l company X makes outrageous claims about when they. Will have. “Fully” self-driving  cars on the road.  

These are the answers to  a couple of questions that keep  recurring in the news or on Google Alerts.  Therefore if you sign up. For  these alerts you will be able to answer  these questions.  There’s only one thing wrong with that logic.  Actually  there is more than one thing wrong.  Let’s. Explore this further.

How many. People reading this know when the first  Model. T. Came off the assembly line?  When did these cars hit the streets in let’s say  New York or Atlanta?  How many people know the answer to these questions?  I bet very few.  Why? Because it’s not important.  

Which. Cart/vehicle makers are not  involved in developing new technology?  Well it seems like any company wishing. To sell cars in the coming  decades always have something in development—right?  This is certainly the case. For electronic and autonomous  vehicles.  So everyone is making them.  

If the questions of who is making them and  exactly when  they will  be here are. Not that important  and history seems to tell us this, what are the real questions to be  aware of and  putting  attention to?

It k seems far important. To. Answer  the questions of where, how, and Who

Some  of these vehicles are already on the streets and functioning because some companies decided there product would work in a given  situation.  They have decided that their sensors could  be relied. Upon  to navigate in certain cities and under certain  weather conditions.  Many companies. Have selected  a pre-determined  route  for these vehicles using them as shuttle busses  or connectors. Between. Other forms of transit.  Almost by default. They  have decided. Who will have access  to this form of transportation.  

My question is—Can we trust the car makers to fully. Consider the  greatest  level of transportation and mobility  need and  work from there?  If  not, the “who” question. Wil be answered  with a simple answer.  “We don’t care if people with disabilities and seniors are left behind again.   We don’t. Care especially. If these folks live in. Rural areas. Of small towns and if it snows there—well  don’t expect us to worry about you.  Reading  six or seven and sometimes  more  news reports  every day, I still haven’t seen  the questions about access  answered  in Aires’s release  from any major  manufacturer .  Do some of the  cars/vans/shuttles have accessible features?  Yes a few do, however if I’m the average citizen or a family member of  a person with a disability how  will know if the self-driving.car can really be and opgtion?   So finally... 

Why  are we  moving toward  these types of transportation?  

Our current  patchwork, developed without a  unified landing process is ineffective.  This is another way—for. What we pay our “system” sucks for many people and we have finally realized  we have to change.  

Why not  include more of the people  who rate adversely  impacted by. The current system being brought. I got the  arena.  

Would t help if the press quit ansing.  The rollout  time and quit worrying about whose doing what. To gain. More market share.  It’s time to. Ask who gets to determine how these. New options  will serve  our purposes and needs.  Come on car makers and reporters you know these are the real  questions— can we starts seeing some real answers?