![]() ![]() Here’s a look at the latest disengagement reports, which run from 2016 to late 2017. ![]() The problem, says Bigelow, is that it’s apples and oranges: “One company’s low number of disengagements may occur during testing on empty highways, while another company’s high number may have occurred during testing in busy urban areas.”Īlso, comparisons are misleading “because some companies place more value on testing in real-world scenarios while others put more emphasis on simulation, and sometimes engineers might be purposely disengaging to validate their systems.” While they do provide a few new details on what led to the self-driving system being shut off by a concerned human operator, the reports provide a somewhat flawed picture when trying to compare one company’s track record with another’s. As writer Pete Bigelow explained in a story earlier this month, “the annual reports on autonomous testing in California required by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles are far from a perfect measure of any company’s self-driving competence.” So what do these “disengagement reports” show? We decided to have a look.įirst, from Car and Driver magazine, a caveat about these statistics that purportedly show how many close calls various car companies have had with their autonomous fleets. “Operation of the vehicles from afar would transform the testing of autonomous cars into ‘a deadly video game that threatens highway safety,’ the consumer advocacy group said.” ![]() As my colleague Ethan Baron points out, California’s move was immediately attacked by Consumer Watchdog, which said the “disengagement reports” companies file with the DMV when human backup drivers have to take over show the technology isn’t ready for remote control. Not everyone’s thrilled with this fast-moving trend to test out driverless cars on our Bay Area roadways. At some point in the future, that requirement is expected to go away. "He was probably about a foot from hitting me.Starting April 2, that human will be at a remote location, not physically in the driver’s seat but able to virtually take over the steering when and if things go south. "He saw me sort of last minute, swerved, gestured his disapproval that I was on the side of the road - and then passed the radar sign that says 30 at 71," said Gouthro. That's when a driver made a hard left from Route 106. The residents of those roads say they live in an accident waiting to happen.ĭave-Allan Gouthro, who lives on Larsen Lane, said he experienced a close call while checking his mail one evening at the community mailbox along the side of the road. A detour is directing traffic onto Homestead Road via Upper Mountain Road.īut savvy local motorists know the official detour is longer than a more direct route through nearby residential roads of Larsen Lane and Parkin Street. Part of nearby Route 106 washed out weeks ago, and New Brunswick's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure closed the road Jan. Residents of a quiet Salisbury neighbourhood are having to restrict their children's outdoor play because of a dramatic increase in traffic, as motorists use their road as an unofficial detour. ![]() Increased traffic through the residential streets of Larsen Lane and Parkin Street are concerning residents. ![]()
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