this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2024
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[–] Jimmycakes 174 points 7 months ago (2 children)

They got an army of thousands of Indians to watch the road for you?

[–] QuarterSwede 61 points 7 months ago (1 children)

No, you’re thinking of Amazon.

[–] [email protected] 82 points 7 months ago (5 children)

They got an army of thousands of Amazonians to watch the road for you?

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 7 months ago (1 children)

No they just got a few dozens good lawyers instead if the lawsuits costts less than the profits and you get publicity out of it then that's business for ya

[–] simplejack 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The best lawyers are going to use AI to create their legal arguments. And you know what AI stands for. Always Indians.

No matter how you slice it, it’s Indians all the way down.

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[–] EurekaStockade 142 points 7 months ago (2 children)

don't come with a requirement that drivers watch the road

Seems it's like every other Mercedes then

[–] deafboy 93 points 7 months ago

And they managed to do it without us obsessing about their CEO several times a day? I refuse to believe that!

[–] cAUzapNEAGLb 86 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

...

As of April 11, there were 65 Mercedes autonomous vehicles available for sale in California, Fortune has learned through an open records request submitted to the state’s DMV. One of those has since been sold, which marks the first sale of an autonomous Mercedes in California, according to the DMV. Mercedes would not confirm sales numbers. Select Mercedes dealerships in Nevada are also offering the cars with the new technology, known as “level 3” autonomous driving.

...

Drivers can activate Mercedes’s technology, called Drive Pilot, when certain conditions are met, including in heavy traffic jams, during the daytime, on spec ific California and Nevada freeways, and when the car is traveling less than 40 mph. Drivers can focus on other activities until the vehicle alerts them to resume control. The technology does not work on roads that haven’t been pre-approved by Mercedes, including on freeways in other states.

...

U.S. customers can buy a yearly subscription of Drive Pilot in 2024 EQS sedans and S-Class car models for $2,500.

...

Mercedes is also working on developing level 4 capabilities. The automaker’s chief technology officer Markus Schäfer expects that level 4 autonomous technology will be available to consumers by 2030, Automotive News reported.

...

[–] [email protected] 57 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Hmm, so only on a very small number of predetermined routes, and at very slow speeds for those roads.

Still impressive, but not as impressive as the headline makes out.

[–] VindictiveJudge 50 points 7 months ago (6 children)

And definitely not worth the $2500 a year they're asking for the feature.

[–] Cryan24 33 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Chances are, If you can afford the car, then that amount is nothing to you.

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[–] Veraxus 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If they assume full liability for any collisions while the feature is active (and it looks like they do), then I can see that being fair.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I've seen this headline a few times and the details are laughably bad. The only reason this can be getting any press is because the headline is good clickbait. But 40 mph top speed on approved roads in 2 states only if a car is in front of you in the daytime is entirely useless. I guess it's a good first step maybe? But trying to write headlines like this is big news is sad.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 7 months ago

40 mph top speed on approved roads in 2 states only if a car is in front of you in the daytime is entirely useless.

It's specifically designed to navigate traffic congestion, which happens under 30 mph. It can keep up with the lane, deal with lane changes, honk if someone backs into you, let ambulances through, things like that. Not sure why the article presents it as generic driving.

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 7 months ago (4 children)

U.S. customers can buy a yearly subscription of Drive Pilot in 2024 EQS sedans and S-Class car models for $2,500

yeah, fuck that.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Those cars cost well over $100k each. The demographic buying that doesn’t care about $2500.

[–] MeatsOfRage 23 points 7 months ago (5 children)

They're also accepting full liability if anything happens while using this feature so it's actually a type of insurance

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[–] merthyr1831 45 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Love how companies can decide who has to supervise their car's automated driving and not an actual safety authority. Absolutely nuts.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 6 months ago (6 children)

Assuming a functional legal system, they'd be liable for damages if they lie about product safety.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 6 months ago (3 children)

They actually did get certified by an authority

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[–] CosmicCleric 44 points 6 months ago (16 children)
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[–] Etterra 36 points 6 months ago

Musk: Fuuuuuuu

[–] nucleative 31 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Wonder how this works with car insurance. Os there a future where the driver doesn't need to be insured? Can the vehicle software still be "at fault" and how will the actuaries deal with assessing this new risk.

[–] machinin 28 points 7 months ago (20 children)

I believe Mercedes takes responsibility if there is an accident while driving autonomously.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago

Which is how it should be. The company creating the software takes on the liability of faults with said software.

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[–] Hugin 21 points 7 months ago (7 children)

Berkshire Hathaway owns Geico the car insurance company. In one of his annual letters Buffett said that autonomous cars are going to be great for humanity and bad for insurance companies.

“If [self-driving cars] prove successful and reduce accidents dramatically, it will be very good for society and very bad for auto insurers.”

Actuaries are by definition bad at assessing new risk. But as data get collected they quickly adjust to it. There are a lot of cars so if driverless cars become even a few percent of cars on the road they will quickly be able to build good actuarial tables.

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[–] daikiki 25 points 6 months ago (12 children)

According to who? Did the NTSB clear this? Are they even allowed to clear this? If this thing fucks up and kills somebody, will the judge let the driver off the hook 'cuz the manufacturer told them everything's cool?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 6 months ago

According to who? Did the NTSB clear this?

Yes.

If this thing fucks up and kills somebody, will the judge let the driver off the hook 'cuz the manufacturer told them everything’s cool?

Yes, the judge will let the driver off the hook, because Mercedes told them it will assume the liability instead.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (10 children)

This is also the company that promises to prioritise the vehicle occupants over pedestrians.

Linky

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago (6 children)

I mean that's exactly what the driver would do, I'm not sure why this is controversial

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[–] BigTrout75 18 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I like to imagine somebody in a call center remotely driving your car.

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[–] Ultragigagigantic 18 points 6 months ago (6 children)

if it can drive a car why wouldn't it be able to drive a truck?

I'm surprised companies don't just build their own special highway for automated trucking and use people for last mile stuff.

[–] Zannsolo 71 points 6 months ago (4 children)

We could make it work on a guide line and attach a bunch of trailers to one truck. You're a genius.

[–] Strobelt 46 points 6 months ago

This idea seems to be getting some steam. I'm all aboard it!

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[–] machineLearner 36 points 6 months ago

yeah that would be great. Say, you can save on that a little if you put wheel guides on the road since theyre all headed in the same direction, and maybe you can replace the tires with something that fits into that guide pretty well so that you don’t have to replace them as much. Matter of fact, all of these trucks can become electric if they run electricity through the track or above it. This is a revolutionary idea!!

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago
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