Reflexes or Programming: Which Would You Choose?

Reflexes or Programming

I recently had a run in with a large delivery truck that started out of a driveway unexpectedly, while a passenger and myself were distracted for a moment. The truck stopped in front of us, and did not make a move forward or back.

There was no accident. We both looked up, let out an audible gasp, and a quick twist of the steering wheel sent us around it.

I wondered immediately a number of things, but first and foremost, what would a collision avoidance system have done? In most cases, it would have braked.

In truth, there are many times that braking may be the best choice for avoiding a problem on the road. And times when it may not! Sometimes steering and braking. Sometimes accelerating! Many times, some combination of all the functions of a vehicle are needed.

Smarter people than me are working very, very hard and developing crazy good technology to keep us all safe on the road. In the situation described above, I believe an auto braking function would have resulted in a crash at low speed. And since the truck had in fact intruded into our path, and while I believe there would have been a collision, at least the driver of the truck would have been faulted!

I believe that my instincts and reaction were correct: there was not time to stop, but there was time to steer! I can prove only the second part, since a collision was avoided. But I am left to wonder if programming can in fact replicate actual human instinct. Of course, development is advancing beyond collision avoidance and moving to full autonomy. And the car would not have been distracted and likely braked before we spotted the truck.

The Proof?

As if in response to my musings, within a few days Automotive News published an article titled “Why autonomous cars should drive the way we do”. Author Krishnan M. Anantharaman nails the problem, stating “As drivers, we’re never as comfortable as when we or someone with the same risk tolerance and driving style is at the wheel.” He is in effect telling his readers that the developers of autonomous cars are going beyond function and taking into account that each of us “must feel comfortable with the decisions those cars make on when to brake, how fast to accelerate, when to pass or how fast to take a turn.”

I hope they succeed…

Without telling him I intended this article, I asked my passenger if he thought there would have been time to stop. He said yes! In effect, we disagreed on the details of the situation: the distance the truck had intruded into the road and the distance between the truck and ourselves. And for the record, he was at greater risk – the truck had entered from the right.

My internal computer opted to steer, which worked. His internal computer would have opted for the brake, which we cannot test.

We wish the developers of autonomous vehicles the very best of luck! Mr. Anantharaman’s essentially concludes that my friend and I will choose very different autonomous vehicles in the future. Assuming there is a choice, I want programming with reflexes!

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