Thread: Britain to ban diesel and petrol vehicles

Accidents never have a single cause, they are invariably the result of a whole series of contributing factors, of which driver error is only one.

Regardless of how good they are, driverless cars are never going to be infallible - just as an example, the issue of collision with macropods is acknowledged to be unsolved. (and this is not just a rural issue - common in Canberra)

Also unsolved is the legal liability issue - for example, if a driverless vehicle is involved in an accident, due to a software shortcoming, who does the insurance company sue? How about an accident due to failure of GPS reception?

If you think that using autonomous vehicle will save lives, In the words of a famous Aussie tv show "Your dreaming"...

We have a fairly low road toll in world standards and statistics...

Getting rid of diesel and petrol vehicles, is not going save the planet or really help against the worst pollution in history...

That pollution is plastics, and it consumes 76% of oil and gas production plus it destroys life... It does not break down to nothing, micro particles will always be present and there is so much in the oceans and on land now that its regarded as part of nature...

As I have said before, one thing being loudly announced as being real bad and killing us is usually not the problem but the slight of hand to make people look in a different direction...
We are being outflanked with bull when the problem is being hidden...

But dont worry, if all goes well Mars will be the new home of elite humans and I dont think any of us will be welcome....

I wonder if we will have to sign a legal liability waiver before boarding a driverless vehicle?

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Accidents never have a single cause, they are invariably the result of a whole series of contributing factors, of which driver error is only one.

Regardless of how good they are, driverless cars are never going to be infallible - just as an example, the issue of collision with macropods is acknowledged to be unsolved. (and this is not just a rural issue - common in Canberra)

Also unsolved is the legal liability issue - for example, if a driverless vehicle is involved in an accident, due to a software shortcoming, who does the insurance company sue? How about an accident due to failure of GPS reception?

As a society.. there are so many issues with driverless cars that are still to be resolved. One that fascinates me is the theory that driverless cars will be a possible solution to congestion.

I think in some ways they will be right. In theory driverless cars can increase the amount of density on a given road, as they can talk to all the surrounding vehicles (including ones a long way in front). This could help.

However the real fear amongst the traffic people is that they will cause a massive jump in the number of cars in our city. What if you can be driven to work by your car, and then tell your car to go home and wait for the call up that evening? Then call it up to come and get you after work?

This is not a rural problem - but has the potential to be a real issue in our cities where congestion is problematic.

On balance.. we've seen time and time again that if we make driving more appealing more people will drive or "be driven".

How is the Gubmint going to replace the revenue from traffic fines, fuel taxes, stamp duty on non-existent car sales? Taxes no longer paid by all the workers in the auto sales and repair industries? Other issues also rear their ugly heads.... Vehicle Nav and Safety updates via the NBN? The grid crashing when everyone gets home and all the cars go into recharge mode? Dogs unable to get near a power pole because all the cars are hogging them? Auto electricians being the most in-demand tradies and upping their already exorbitant (in some cases) rates? Shady characters on street corners offering an "electricity deal you no canna refuse!" Walking to a servo (if any exist) to get a couple of amps, because you ran out just down the street?
Honestly, I don't expect the oil barons to just roll over because some numbnut with a phd thinks they'll be out of business in a few years.

Originally Posted by donh54

Honestly, I don't expect the oil barons to just roll over because some numbnut with a phd thinks they'll be out of business in a few years.

Why not? Plastic will be in high demand and they can make all they want since people only notice visual pollution, and they do want there nice plastic clothes etc...

Another thing people dont consider, computers are extremely falable and very easily corrupted... People are easily conned into believing something is infalable when it will break in 2 seconds, but a good salesman will con them into believing its still fine...

Just look at computers today, everyone is believing they are so good, but all I see is a piece of junk that has more problems than the pomms whinged about with the "Reliant", but do people stop buying them...

Anything programme based is going to fail, wether today or next year, it will... Humans make mistakes, computers are a product of humans, so the mistake is built in... Anyone who thinks otherwise, needs to do a lot of learning and understanding about what a computer is and what a programme is...

Great points..

While I personally don't support electric vehicles, I acknowledge that range is not a barrier. Our family run about car could easily be electric. The defender and long trips not so much.

As the UK plans to phase out petrol cars, is Australia being left behind? | Environment | The Guardian

The German Courts have just upheld Stutgart's ban on diesels in the inner city. I knew there was a good reason why I didn't buy a td5....(not that I'm driving my V8 to Stutgart any time soon)...

Cheers