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I had no idea this technology had been in use for so long. My son has a Tesla and finds some of the self driving kinks problematic and doesn’t rely on that feature. I am frankly terrified by the idea of a car or truck driving itself, and human nature being what it is, many will be far too lax about “standing watch” as they drive.

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The collision avoidance system had a much simpler task than self-driving vehicles on the road. I know what the software has to do, how I would approach developing it or testing it, and (importantly) how easy it is for a human to miss something in building such a complex system. Like your son, I wouldn't feel ready to trust it yet. It's too young, still learning. But I'm most familiar with driving in the USA and UK.

In Facebook, another automation expert I've worked with said self-driving vehicles are commonplace in China. He has worked there. I haven't. I have seen usual behavior on the road vary widely from one country to another, so his comment leads me to wonder whether self-driving vehicles can become reliable more easily in some countries (with more standardized human behavior) than in others.

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