Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022

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Monday, June 26 2023

25th edition of the 11th year of SmartDrivingCars eLetter

San Francisco’s fire chief is fed up with robotaxis that mess with her firetrucks. And L.A. is next

R. Mitchell, June 26, “Robotaxis keep tangling with firefighters on the streets of San Francisco, and the fire chief is fed up.

“They’re not ready for prime time,” Chief Jeanine Nicholson said….

State regulators track robotaxi collisions, but they don’t track data on traffic flow issues, such as street blockages or interference with firetrucks.

But the Fire Department does. Since Jan. 1, the Fire Department has logged at least 39 robotaxi incident reports…

State regulators track robotaxi collisions, but they don’t track data on traffic flow issues, such as street blockages or interference with firetrucks.

The Fire Department incidents include reports of robotaxis:…

Safety data censored

In 2021, the DMV joined with Waymo on a court-approved deal to allow driverless car companies to censor not only trade secrets but basic information on safety performance, including most details of collision reports as well as information on how the company handles driverless car emergencies.

The industry is tight with the information it releases to the public about its operations on public roads.

Waymo won’t say how many cars it runs in San Francisco. Cruise said it operates 150 to 300 cars but won’t be more precise. Neither company will say how large its fleet will grow, or how quickly. Neither Waymo nor Motional will say how many robotaxis they’re testing in Santa Monica and L.A….”
Read more
Hmmmm… Devastating in so many ways. The SF “proof-of-market” is a train wreck! Time for a major pivot!
Watch PodCast 323 with Russ. Alain

SmartDrivingCars ZoomCast 323 / PodCast 323 w/Russ Mitchell, LA Times Correspondent

F. Fishkin, June 26, “Robotaxis and first responders. The San Francisco situation with Waymo and Cruise. And focusing on solving mobility needs could generate more public support. Russ Mitchell of the L.A. Times joins Princeton’s Alain Konrhauser and co-host Fred Fishkin for episode 323 of Smart Driving Cars.

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Thursday, April 27, 2023

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Friday, February 3, 2023

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Tuesday, January 24, 2023

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Friday, January 13, 2023

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Sunday, January 8, 2023

  • SafeDrivingCars: Those in which the automated function are explicitly designed to not only substantially reduce driver misbehavior by constraining the performance characteristic such as incorporating speed governors that only permit excessive speeds in geofenced locations such as Watkins Glen International and stretches of the German Autobahn, but also automatically intervene to prevent crashes; thus, extending what is done today with anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control.

  • SelfDrivingCars: Those which allow the driver for some extended period of time to be “feet-off” the brake & throttle, delivering to the driver substantial comfort & convenience, but also “hands-off” the wheel for shorter periods of time providing a little more comfort & convenience. Absolutely required are “eyes & brain” focused the human task of driving, ready to intervene should the automated driver begin to fail.

  • DriverlessCars: Those which serve only passengers and/or goods from trip start, through finish. Luckily, the notion that individuals might own such vehicles for personal use and/or be able to “AirB&B” them for others to get from A to B is now realized by essentially everyone as exceedingly naïve. The Mercedes booth at this year’s CES showed no sign of its [Mercedes Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion LIVE PREMIERE CES 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eftN0lwNk88). Yea!

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Friday, December 30, 2022

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Sunday, December 25, 2022

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Saturday, December 17, 2022

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Sunday, December 11, 2022

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Sunday, November 27, 2022

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Saturday, November 19, 2022

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Sunday, November 6, 2022

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Sunday, October 30, 2022

  • Hawkins, Oct. 27, “When Ford announced yesterday that it was pulling its support for Argo AI, the autonomous driving startup it had financed since 2017, it cited as one of its reasons a belief that driver-assist technology will have more near-term payoffs…..” Read more Hmmmm… I agree with Andrew, as I stated above. Alain

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Sunday, October 23, 2022

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Friday, October 14, 2022

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Saturday, October 08, 2022

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Thursday, September 29, 2022

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Sunday, August 28, 2022

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Saturday, August 6, 2022

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Monday, July 25, 2022

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Saturday, June 18, 2022

  • These systems outrageously reduce crash probabilities, and/or

  • maybe some, but we’re probably not much luckier.

  • very few of the cars in use during that “10” month period had Level 2 capabilities, and/or

  • unfortunately, the VIN number doesn’t identify these cars and only Tesla announces how many sold (I may have missed the reportings)

  • very few of the drivers of those cars rarely engaged the Level 2 features, and/or

  • likely. Only Tesla releases data on the utilization of its level 2 features but does so only in aggregate terms that don’t allow for correction of sampling bias associated with engagement in “easy” driving conditions versus “challenging” driving conditions.

  • enormous under counting

  • likely, only Tesla has the opportunity to either “know all” or sample effectively because of their OtA monitoring of its vehicles. Everyone else has conveniently kept their heads in the sand. Mercedes didn’t report any; however, during that period I think my Intelligent Cruise Control and Lane Centering were engaged when I hit a deer. Mercedes must not have been watching me, I didn’t report it and I didn’t get the memo that informed me to do anything.

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Saturday, June 11, 2022

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Saturday, May 28, 2022

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Saturday, May 7, 2022

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Friday, April 30, 2022

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Saturday, April 23, 2022

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Thursday, April 15, 2022

  • those that don’t already have a stable full of their own personal mobility options.
  • those for which his aTaxi can substantially change their lives for the better.

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Thursday, March 31, 2022

PersonTripLength (90%tile): 10 miles

Cost:

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Friday, February 4, 2022