[amenod]

The missing bit here is "...unknown is detected on the road" - if there is a tire scrap or plastic bag or anything that looks suspicious a normal human driver would slow down and give it extra attention, then try to avoid it anyway. You don't drive over / through an object unless you know that it is not harmful, and even then you try to avoid it so you don't drive over a bag... of nails.

[EpicEng]

It's not that simple. Humans can also predict movement, and that is necessary because cars don't stop instantaneously. So you have a person walking toward the street and your dumb smart car is constantly hitting the brakes.

This tech simply isn't there yet and I doubt it's all that close.

[CaptainZapp]

  This tech simply isn't there yet and I doubt it's all that close.

In which case it's absolutely criminal by the government of Arizona to allow testing such tech on public roads.

[kolpa]

> So you have a person walking toward the street > and your dumb smart car is constantly hitting the brakes.

Doesn't sound dumb to me. The car should be going slow enough to emergency stop if the pedestrian enters the road.

[vbezhenar]

People don't drive like that. People expect reasonable behavior from other people and that includes expectations that they won't jump into the road. If Uber will drive unreasonably, its passengers will prefer other taxi who drive more aggressively.

[EpicEng]

Except no one drives that way and no one would put up with it. Do you slow down every time someone on the sidewalk takes a step toward the street? I doubt it (and, if you do, please never get in front of me.)

So, yeah: dumb.

[blattimwind]

If I think they might walk on the street I of course slow down (as much as I deem necessary). What kind of question is that?

If I think I saw children run around between cars on the parking lane, are the parents probably morons? Yes. Do I slow down and be prepare to slam the brakes in case a child suddenly runs in front of me? Ab-so-lute-ly.

Even if people behave idiotically on the street, it is obviously still my fault if I run them over.

[EpicEng]

>If I think they might walk on the street I of course slow down

And that's what I'm talking about. Computers aren't all that good at determining whether or not a person is going to jump into the street.

[LoSboccacc]

human track gaze and understand desires, so you kinda know if someone exiting a shop will or will not proceed straight into the road.

that said, as I said above whenever a car sense a situation it doesn't understand it should slow down, that's enough to be safe later on as the situation develops and is different than hitting the brakes full force.

and anyway expecting autonomous car to drive full speed all the time is moronic, humans don't do that either, precisely because it's dangerous.