I wonder if we’ll all start wearing some kind of markers that these cars can more easily pick up. Like a blind person’s cane could be a specific hue or be otherwise easy to detect by driverless cars. Or cars could detect the UWB signal (like AirTags use) from our phones which is very precise.
Basically, maybe there’s better ways than standard vision (which for computers is still kinda basic compared to a person) to solve the pedestrian hitting problem.
Yeah but what a sad dystopia where you need to wear a beacon just to be outside without risking death, especially if like jogging on a sidewalk or riding a bike.
The cars are clearly the danger to everyone who isn’t in a car, why would the burden be on everyone else, all the time?
Since the advent of motor vehicles, I would argue risk has generally scaled with the efficiency and power of vehicles.
At the minimum, for 70 years we have known that danger to both pedestrians and safe drivers is ever present and growing. The reality is not about who SHOULD deal with this problem, but how to most effectively arrive at a functional solution which actually reduces risk for drivers and pedestrians alike.
As well, it's worth noting most accidents occur in areas where you drive most often and you're most familiar. And the increase in traffic accidents and fatalities over the last 10+ years has been due to driver distractions, ie cell phones etc, more than anything by a lot.
Yes there are reckless drivers out there doing stupid shit. However, that's always been the case. Now it's just easier than ever to capture them on camera and for them to go faster than ever for cheap. However, even back in the 70's, crash safety technology was laughably behind anything we have so it goes both ways imo.
Basically, maybe there’s better ways than standard vision (which for computers is still kinda basic compared to a person) to solve the pedestrian hitting problem.