Topic: How close are we to a crash-proof car?

[Simon]

Every year, 1.3 million people are killed and 50 million injured on the world's roads. Carmakers are racing to create a vehicle that will never crash, but can it be done and will drivers accept a computer that overrides their driving?

Less than 30 years ago, "clunk clicking" ourselves into our car seat belts seemed like the cutting edge of road safety technology. Since then, we've seen airbags, anti-lock braking systems and crumple zones fitted to new cars.

Now the arrival of crash avoidance technology - systems that can alert drivers to danger and even take action to prevent accidents from happening - promises to cut the number of crashes on our roads.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15820069

[Clive]

I welcome the idea and have no doubt none of us will be in the driving seat in 50 years time.  I also predict that cars will not have internal combustion engines to propel them.  A couple of friends of mine already have cars that can park themselves.   

[Simon]

The problem would be that computers cannot possibly take into account every eventuality, and some human control would always be required, in my opinion.  With the keeping in lane control, for example, what would happen, say, in thick fog, if you suddenly had to change lanes to avoid a collision?  If the car is fighting against the driver, that might put him at quite a disadvantage.  I'm sure there would be fail safe mechanisms built in, but I'd find it pretty scary to have no control over the vehicle myself.

[Clive]

But there will be no controls at all Simon.  No steering wheel and no pedals.  SatNav will take care of everything.  That would suit me down to the ground.   

[Simon]

That's handy, because in 50 years time, when all this happens, you'll probably be in the ground. 

[Clive]

And a good thing too.   

[Rik]

No going for the urn on the mantelpiece, Clive?

[Clive]

I have my eye on the nearby field of sheep.   

[Rik]

 

[Simon]

[Clive]

 

[GillE]

There'll be loads of crashes.  By then, CERN will have come up with some new theory-of-everything based on the properties of the Higgs Bosun particle which might be announced tomorrow... assuming they can get enough physicists in the same press conference at the same time... although several of them might inadvertently be scattered throughout Somerset despite their promises to be at the press conference... and if the particle isn't actually confirmed tomorrow it will have been confirmed in the 11th dimension which is close enough to mean that if the errant scientists can get to Italy they'll soon be back in Geneva before anyone notices that Somerset has a surplus of physicists anyway...

... so all these particle physicists will suddenly appear in the air, fifty feet above the Los Angeles Interstate and holding onto the tails of tabbies, screaming, "Schrodinger, your bloody cat decided it wanted to see how it would land when dropped from a great height. Poisonous gas just didn't have the same sort of appeal."  Then they'll splash down onto all the cars below, no doubt with the last victim yelling, "Programme that into your lovely GPS satellites, you Newtonian chimps".

[Rodders]

Gill, relax.  Calm down and have a jam sandwich.  The universe will continue to be pretty much the same long after both you and I have gone mouldy.  Now what was that question again?

[sam]

new theory-of-everything based on the properties of the Higgs Bosun particle which might be announced tomorrow.

other way around - the theory predicts the particle. Oh and its Boson.

[Rik]

In the navy