the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, General Motors has unveiled its next-generation ‘hands-free’ driver-assist technology, Ultra Cruise. Ultra Cruise can be used in 95 percent of driving scenarios. A light bar will communicate to the driver when they need to take control. Ultra Cruise will be available in a handful of premium vehicles in 2023. GM’s driver-assist systems have been praised as safer and more capable than Tesla’s Autopilot thanks to its camera-based driver monitoring system that ensures drivers keep their eyes on the road. Ultra Cruise is a Level 2 system, which means that a human is required to be ready to take control in the driver’s seat at any time.
So… US population is approx 350,000,000 (350 million).
5% (100-95) = 17.5 million.
… 5% is not always a small number.
Trusting a 95% coverage (not even 95% accuracy or 95% safe) automated driving system is reckless at best.
GM says this will handle “ 95 percent of driving scenarios”. — the easy ones. They will dump the hard ones on the driver, probably with little to no warning, when they realize their Cruise technology is in over its head.
This is carefully designed to maximize advertising claims while minimizing liability. After all, when the vehicle hits the abutment, the technology will not be in control, so GM won’t be liable.
On top of that, with cruise control handling 95% of the day to day driving, people will have forgotten what to do when responsibility lands in their lap.
The whole thing is a bad idea.
Not in ten million years.
Oh boy,