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Automated cars coming too soon for riders

BMW Vision Next 100 driverless automated self-driving artificial intelligence tests autonomous kill
BMW Vision Next 100 concept vehicles

Road safety nannies seem obsessed with introducing automated vehicles as a panacea to resolving the road toll, according to motorcycle and artificial intelligence experts.

Their comments follow a recent crash in which an automated Tesla S rear-ended and injured a female motorcyclist in Norway while undergoing on-road testing.

It has prompted official concerns about whether testing of Tesla’s Autopilot system sufficiently took into account two-wheeled vehicles.

And it’s not just automated cars, but also buses and trucks with Volvo just completing a 210km automated drive from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins to deliver Budweiser beer.

The automated Volvo had “driver supervision”

International Federation for Information Processing president Mike Hinchey has warned this week’s ITU World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly in Tunisia about the rapid introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

“The challenge is how to trust automated decisions, particularly in a situation where machine learning means that the computer might make a completely different decision from one context to another,” he warns.

“If we are going to empower machines to act on our behalf, then we must be clear about the constraints we want to enforce by specifying a range of behavioural rules we will accept and those we won’t.”

While recognising the enormous investment being made in AI systems like driverless cars, Professor Hinchey said the jury is still out on whether these systems will ever be fully implemented.

“Technology like driverless cars only really works if everyone applies the rules consistently. Robots will, but humans might not.

“Humans sometimes bend the rules out of courtesy and will use eye contact to confirm their decision. However, in a context where both humans and robots are sharing the road, problems could arise because of the different ways in which they interpret the rules,” Professor Hinchey explained.

Preservation of life

He also questioned where to draw the line on preservation of life.

“Of course, a self-driving vehicle will seek to protect its occupants, but what happens if the choice is between saving the person in the car or saving several people on the street. How does a robot decide without the benefit of human judgement?”

Professor Hinchey said more research is needed to understand the nuances of AI systems as their influence in our lives continues to grow.

Yet development in automated cars and motorcycles with AI is going ahead at a rapid pace and on-road testing is becoming more prevalent.

The road safety experts are claiming it will make the roads safer. Even BMW Motorrad spokesman Karl Viktor Schaller says autonomous vehicles will make motorcycle riding safer.

BMW, as well as Yamaha and Kawasaki are also woking on autonomous motorcycles using AI.

BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 unveil
BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 automated motorcycle

Obsessed with automated vehicles

Motorcyclist, road safety campaigner and Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party candidate Judith Kuerschner says delegates at the recent Australasian Road Safety Conference in Canberra seemed obsessed with autonomous vehicles.

“Personally I don’t see them as a good thing for motorcycles,” she says.

Judith Kuerschner on her Can-Am Spyder

“Many variables involved with manoeuvres such as filtering and moving at speeds greater than the posted limit, or even just the ability to accelerate quickly and move ‘erratically’ within a lane are things which most car drivers don’t seem to be able to factor in.

“Since an inanimate object such as a computer on wheels is only going to be as good as its programmer, these things are likely to be ‘too hard’ to cater to, or simply not thought of at all.

“Add to this that motorcycles are smaller than a car and therefore, more difficult to detect.”

  1. The elephant in the room is that some people actually enjoy driving their own cars. Me for one. Not the least bit interested in a self driving car. I guess they want to force these gadgets upon us. Lower everybody to the lowest common denominator.

    “You will have a self drive car or no car at all.”

    Stuff that!

  2. I agree with Mark Taylor . AI will take the fun, pleasure and enjoyment out of riding motorcycles. Isn’t that why we ride – for the sheer pleasure it brings us. Somewhere along the line all these Road Safety Nannies seem to have failed to understand the motorcycle community. Seriously? I wouldn’t ride a motorcycle where the computer had total control. We have ABS and Traction control – that’s about the limit that is needed. We don’t need a bike that won’t fall over – we already have those scooters that have two wheels up front – for people who can’s cope with keeping their bikes upright.

    The real problem that we as motorcycle riders face is living in a world where cars are 100% automated without a human at the wheel.

    Tell them they’re dreaming.

  3. 17% increase in road deaths this year so far (was on the news this morning).
    I bet a fair bit of that increase is because of distraction. As a motorcyclist and cyclist all I see all day is drivers on their phones at the wheel.
    Bring on automated cars and trucks – at least the computers (LIDAR) are looking around. At least they won’t “punishment pass” me while I’m cycling. They’ll see me coming from behind.
    The sooner we get the control of the steel cages out of the human’s hands the better.
    It’ll take motorcycling a lot longer to go automated and we may just have to accept that if we want to ride it ourselves we’ll have to go to the track. Insurance will become increasingly difficult to obtain and supremely expensive – why would they cover a fallible driver when a computer can do it for you and not mess up and kill someone?
    1200 pedestrian deaths per year in Australia. 50+ cyclists per year, all killed by drivers. Many motorcyclists as well. Road deaths are 30,000 per year in the USA. That’s an immense number of people, families, children affected for life, because of human error.
    That’s what automated self driving cars are going to change.

    1. I cannot wait for the fully automated cars to hit the roads here, just think, for every brain dead totally unpredictable, its all about me and my I phone, driver that buys one, is one less problem we have.

      Bring it on!

      Ride free and safe.

  4. I think that the best way is to drive our cars by ourselves. it is more fun and much more safe to do not let cars drive on a round on autopilot. So new drivers – go to http://driver-start.com/ and start your lessons :DDD

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