Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica (techcrunch.com)

submitted 4 weeks ago by copacetic@discuss.tchncs.de to c/automotive@discuss.tchncs.de

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[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 36 points 4 weeks ago

Read beyond the headline:

Waymo said its robotaxi struck the child at six miles per hour, after braking “hard” from around 17 miles per hour. The young pedestrian “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path,” the company said in its blog post. Waymo said its vehicle “immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle.”

I'm guessing the automated car was able to react far faster than a human driver would have and the child would have sustained far greater injuries with a human behind the wheel. I'll wait for the full investigation though.

[-] Jhex@lemmy.world 14 points 4 weeks ago

It's ok to take in the context... but I couldn't really believe a word by the entity who would benefit from minimizing this accident as much as possible

[-] officermike@lemmy.world 11 points 4 weeks ago

I'm guessing the automated car was able to react far faster than a human driver would have and the child would have sustained far greater injuries with a human behind the wheel.

Waymo said in its blog post that its “peer-reviewed model” shows a “fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph.”

[-] prettybunnys@piefed.social 5 points 4 weeks ago

both speeds generally survivable, but 14mph would suuuuuck (not that 6 wouldn’t)

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 weeks ago

try crashing a bike into a wall at 6 or 14 mph. Either could kill you.

[-] prettybunnys@piefed.social 7 points 4 weeks ago

I think I won’t, but thanks for the recommend.

[-] thenoirwolfess@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

This kind of bs is what's stopping us from phasing out the biggest problem with driving: crap human drivers. Phase out human drivers starting with those who make the most frequent mistakes, completely separate pedestrian paths from roads, and rebuild the road infrastructure so it's designed for machine, not man. If it's that impossible to use public transport.

[-] dondelelcaro@lemmy.world 6 points 4 weeks ago

So trains then. Got it.

[-] Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

even if they killed the kid, no charges would be filed against them because.. company.

I lay 100% blame on the CEO being personally responsible for any and all damages/injuries that occur from their non-tested slop

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 9 points 4 weeks ago

I lay 100% blame on the CEO being personally responsible for any and all damages/injuries that occur from their non-tested slop

The blame for the kid running out in the street is the CEO's fault?

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 3 weeks ago

Children cannot be held accountable for behaving irrationally and running onto the street without looking. Any accident where a car hits a child (within cities) is fully the driver's fault because you must expect children to run from blind spots onto the street.

You know, the exact thing "defensive driving" is meant to prevent. From Wikipedia:

Driving defensively includes

Preparedness for all sorts of actions and reactions of other drivers and pedestrians

Children are pedestrians and children regularly act without safety in mind, ergo you must drive slow enough to stop at a moment's notice. 17 mph in a narrow road with many blind spots is too much.

[-] Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 weeks ago

nah.. these Milti billion dollar companies have enough free passes to do whatever. it's time to treat them how they treat us

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

Then if you're going to throw out logic and reason, you're going to alienate anyone that may agree with you on other very valid points you may have. Aren't you concerned about being labeled and ignored?

[-] Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 weeks ago

Im always ignored as it is

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

Are you seeing the pattern as to why that is?

[-] Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

I've never made any connections on it, other then I tend to be quiet and don't make the crude sex/insulting jokes my 'groups' always did/do.

I'm probably just a boring human and people don't really care for boring. I dunno.

[-] snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

The blame for the kid running out in the street is the CEO's fault?

Streets are for people. Not cars. Don't blame the kid for doing kid stuff.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

Streets are for people. Not cars.

Where are you getting that idea? Streets were used by horse/ox driven carts/carriages for thousands of years and long before cars. The only reason they're as wide as they are are for these vehicles. They were never meant for purely human pedestrians.

[-] snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Streets were used by horse/ox driven carts/carriages for thousands of years and long before cars.

Not at anywhere near the speeds or volume that they're used by cars today. Streets used to be legitimate and safe places where kids could play or people could walk. Cars changed all of that.

Modern cities that are actually well designed focus on making streets destinations - places where people would actually want to exist outside of a car. Streets like this are generally better the fewer cars they have

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Not at anywhere near the speeds or volume that they’re used by cars today

You've moved the goalposts. You previously said streets aren't for cars. Now you're fine with cars, but its the volume/speed you take issue with? The article you're replying to had a car driving at 17mph before the kid ran in front of it. A horse drawn carriage can go about twice that fast at top speed.

Streets used to be legitimate and safe places where kids could play or people could walk.

You...actually think that there weren't people injured and killed by horse carts long before cars existed? Are you serious? I'm beginning to think you have no idea what you're talking about especially with regard to history.

[-] snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Now you're fine with cars, but its the volume/speed you take issue with?

No, that is not what I said.

You...actually think that there weren't people injured and killed by horse carts long before cars existed? Are you serious?

Again, not what I said.

I don't think fucking horses were killing 400 kids per day but if they were I would be against ubiquitously using them on streets as well.

Since you're clearly arguing in bad faith, I think I'm going to disengage.

[-] snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Automated car makers are always going to emphasize the stopping distance because it's a strong point for them. This was true even in that cruise incident where the car stopped quickly to avoid hitting that woman as hard, but then picked up speed again since it couldn't see her, dragging her underneath and killing her.

I guess what I would want to know in this case is would a vigilent human driver have spotted the kid faster because a human actually knows how to read body language and spot unpredictable children?

Either way though fuck cars.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

I guess what I would want to know in this case is would a vigilent human driver have spotted the kid faster because a human actually knows how to read body language and spot unpredictable children?

I listed the same question you did for the same reason. My guess is the computer can and did respond faster than a human.

Either way though fuck cars.

Wrong community.

[-] snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

Wrong community.

Cars can get fucked in every community :)

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Cars can get fucked in every community :)

No thank you. I don't want to have to block every community like I already block fuckcars.

Most folks in there want to imagine everyone in the world lives in a dense metropolis with easily accessible, 24/7/365, cheap/free, and timely public transportation. Alternatively they seem to believe people shouldn't live anywhere but that dense metropolis. While most of that criteria does certainly exist in small pockets scattered around the globe, the other 98% of where people live or need to get to farther than walking/cycling can where public transportation doesn't exist need cars.

I'm fine if those folks want to continue to embrace their delusion only in that Lemmy community. Its their opinion, and they are welcome to it even if I disagree. Its their clubhouse and I'm certainly not going to go in there and start a fight, but there's no reason to try to turn every other community into that same narrow mindset.

[-] snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Most folks in there want to imagine everyone in the world lives in a dense metropolis with easily accessible, 24/7/365, cheap/free, and timely public transportation. Alternatively they seem to believe people shouldn't live anywhere but that dense metropolis. While most of that criteria does certainly exist in small pockets scattered around the globe, the other 98% of where people live or need to get to farther than walking/cycling can where public transportation doesn't exist need cars.

Not the "rural places need cars" argument lmao. Tell me you haven't lived in a rural town without telling me you haven't lived in a rural town.

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