Anyone use Waymo autonomous driving cars and is the price similar to Uber/Lyft?

[disneysteve]

Still not going to set foot in one of those.

I think we are still years away from self-driving vehicles being a mainstream option. No, I'm not getting in one.

[ua_guy]

I think we are still years away from self-driving vehicles being a mainstream option. No, I'm not getting in one.

They're becoming more common in big cities and lots of people use them, I can acknowledge that. I have no need, currently. I really don't even like taking Uber/Lyft with a real person driving. Parts of big city life escape me, and I'm not one of those people who thinks big cities are all bad. It's just not what I prefer. I like taking my own vehicle, and having available parking, and I don't like depending on other people or service, never have.

It's not that I'll never get in a self-driving car, the time just isn't now, for me. Not in the modern "we test in production" -world.

[disneysteve]

They're becoming more common in big cities and lots of people use them, I can acknowledge that. I have no need, currently. I really don't even like taking Uber/Lyft with a real person driving. Parts of big city life escape me, and I'm not one of those people who thinks big cities are all bad. It's just not what I prefer. I like taking my own vehicle, and having available parking, and I don't like depending on other people or service, never have.

It's not that I'll never get in a self-driving car, the time just isn't now, for me. Not in the modern "we test in production" -world.

I know they're in use in a number of places. I'm going to Vegas next month and I believe they have them there so I'm curious to see.

I've got no problem with Uber and have used them a number of times when traveling. We've also used them when we knew there would be a lot of drinking occurring and I wouldn't be able to drive.

I'm definitely a control freak when it comes to driving. Any time we're going somewhere with other people, I always volunteer to be the driver, but Uber serves its purpose for getting from the airport to the hotel or something like that.

[QuarterMillionMan]

3 examples of Waymo I've seen which is impressive;
1) 2 lanes each way, 1st car blinkers left turn, 2nd Waymo car blnkers right to change lane in front of a car in the right lane and Waymo does so safely, 3rd car me gets stuck behind 1st car turning left due to right lane congested.
2) intersection w/4 way traffic light, I'm 1st car waiting at red light. Perpendicular to me is green about to turn red with lots of traffic. At orange light last few cars enter intersection and barely make it across the crosswalk. Waymo patiently waits behind crosswalk as light turns red.
3) Intersection with no traffic lights, me SB no stop sign, opposing traffic NB no stop sign. Waymo car WB stopped at stop sign signaling a left turn to travel SB. Just before I'm about to enter intersection I see NB cars nearing intersection and I was wondering if Waymo would wait for NB traffic to pass or if Waymo could safetly make the left turn in front of approaching NB vehicles. Waymo accelerates and safely makes the left in front of the NB approaching vehicles although it looked like the NB approaching vehicles had to brake a little. Waymo safely cuts in front of me where I did not have to tap my brakes. Waymo amazes me every time. I trust Waymo more than any human being driver.

[ua_guy]

I can't be amazed because I expect Waymo to drive exceptionally well. That's the standard I hold it to. There have been incidents where Waymo is at fault and caused an accident. Not just unavoidable and they were at fault, actually caused the accident.

There are still elements of driving that I trust to a human, for example: Yes, that's wonderful that Waymo is programmed to not run red lights (or orange lights). It should generally follow the law as a basic premise of automated driving. But can it dynamically differentiate between what is safe and what is legal? If I'm faced with a judgement call as a human whether to stop my vehicle or proceed through a light I know is going to turn red just before, or while I'm in an intersection, it's not going to be the "legal" choice every time. If I have a heavy truck behind me, I'm going to proceed through the intersection in the interest of my own safety if that truck is following closely, or if I think there's a chance the driver isn't paying attention.

Another example, if a self driving car is doing the speed limit on the freeway, not even in the passing lane, but is holding up the flow of traffic lanes behind it, acausing people to erratically change lanes to get past it, I suppose that's legal. But it's not creating the margin of safety which is intended by the law. A good and trained human driver would know they are creating an unsafe situation and to move into another lane of travel or adjust speed as to not cause congestion.

That's my problem with AI driving. Yes, I trust that technology can generally perceive and react faster than a human, and AI driving is unmistakably better than many of the drivers licensed via state training programs. Those are good things. As is the ability to take inebriated drivers off the road and provide them a safer ride to the next destination, or provide transportation to people who cannot drive themselves. My problem is that the technology isn't fully baked yet, and yet, we're expected to trust it like it is.

[disneysteve]

if a self driving car is doing the speed limit on the freeway, not even in the passing lane, but is holding up the flow of traffic lanes behind it, causing people to erratically change lanes to get past it, I suppose that's legal. But it's not creating the margin of safety which is intended by the law. A good and trained human driver would know they are creating an unsafe situation and to move into another lane of travel or adjust speed as to not cause congestion.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves on the road. Drivers - real human drivers - who are in the center or left lane going barely the speed limit or less while traffic is moving at 5-10 mph over the speed limit at least. Sure it's legal but no, it isn't safe. If auto drivers do the same thing, there will be many more accidents as a result. I saw a study recently that found that a driver going 10 mph below traffic is 6 times more likely to cause an accident.

That's my problem with AI driving. Yes, I trust that technology can generally perceive and react faster than a human, and AI driving is unmistakably better than many of the drivers licensed via state training programs. Those are good things. As is the ability to take inebriated drivers off the road and provide them a safer ride to the next destination, or provide transportation to people who cannot drive themselves. My problem is that the technology isn't fully baked yet, and yet, we're expected to trust it like it is.

Exactly. I have no doubt that Waymo is safer than all of the morons who are texting with one hand and drinking coffee with the other while driving in stop and go traffic. What I see on the road on a daily basis is horrifying. It's a miracle that there aren't 10 times as many accidents as there are. But there's simply no way that the tech is fully perfected yet. It's better than 5 years ago and it will be even better 5 years from now. We just aren't there yet.