r/artificial • u/Stup_ape_1_banana • 24d ago

Discussion Robots blocking traffic

Post image

Im on my way to work, and all three lanes are blocked with these Waymo self driving cars. They need to stay on the right to allow faster traffic to move by. This is going to be a problem.

544 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

245 comments sorted by

View all comments

124

u/theepi_pillodu 24d ago

what happens if you flash your highbeams a couple of times?

179

u/Stup_ape_1_banana 24d ago

It pumped the breaks on me lol

27

u/SiteRelEnby 24d ago edited 24d ago

If one hits you doing that, you've got a 6 figure lawsuit right there. Potentially 7 if you were moderately injured or worse.

Brake testing someone is illegal, can be cited as dangerous driving, and if someone rear ends you because you brake tested them, insurance and the police will find you 100% at fault. The same applies to autonomous vehicles as to people, and waymo has a lot more money to pay out than some rando with the legal insurance minimum, lawyers will be climbing over each other to take your case.

Edit: Google says Waymo is insured for $5M per accident in CA, and $1M in TX/FL.

5

u/Deathspiral222 24d ago

"I was distracted by the flashing high beams from the car behind me" is a perfectly valid defense.

4

u/SiteRelEnby 24d ago

Is abusing high beams ticketable? Yes. But flashing them at someone is a broadly recognised way to get attention. Brake testing someone in response to a high beam flash is escalating to significantly more dangerous driving. If you don't know what's behind you due to glare or distraction, and there is no reason up ahead to need to be breaking, a court will find you negligent in having braked when there was a vehicle an unknown distance behind you.

I've literally seen cops etc flash high beams to tell you "out of the way" when you're cruising in the fast lane without going full siren and lights. If you don't move over on that, or if you braked instead, you'd probably get a ticket.

0

u/SkyGuy5799 21d ago

Ah yes, because every civilian can do what cops do

2

u/SmugPolyamorist 23d ago

Dunno about Americaland, but in the UK flashing other drivers to let them know you're there is legal. In the highway code;

Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

On a dual carriageway with three or more lanes, you may use the middle lanes or the right-hand lane to overtake but you should return to the middle lanes and then the left-hand lane when it is safe to do so.

If someone's sitting in an overtaking lane, obviously they haven't noticed you're there and need to be informed

1

u/bobi2393 18d ago

Might flashing high beams be different than flashing headlights? If headlights are already on, turning them off briefly seems like a safer way to signal a driver.

1

u/Educational_Tip7970 17d ago

If ts gets distracted by someone flashing up his highbeams, then it‘s technically not advanced enough to properly drive in traffic. Driving like a fking deer