The future is upon us and cars are being designed to be driverless, what are all your thoughts for us, the motorbikers? Fancied starting a debate.                                                                                                                                                                             

start worrying when they bring in riderless bikes!                                                                                                                                                                             

Yes that would be amusing!                                                                                                                                                                              

Some would say considering the shocking levels of numptiness of drivers, it wouldn't be a bad thing. I just wonder if indicator usage would go up!                                                                                                                                                                             

That's a good point, or even just driverless indicators lol
                                                                                                                                                                             

I agree with rb.
Drivers today are so sloppy.
The only reason their skills are not checked annually, like an MOT, is purely political.                                                                                                                                                                             

If they put as much thought into training like they do with the A license then it may improve.                                                                                                                                                                             

maybe driverless cars would even position correctly for right turns.  Do they not teach that for tests these days ?   they should spot a bike but how often do computers go wrong for no reason at all.                                                                                                                                                                                  

Less than the muppets 'driving' the cars.
And research has shown that 30% would fail the eyesight test.

So SMIDSY is actually true!                                                                                                                                                                             

This BM thread may be worth considering in the proposed debate -

http://www.bikermatch.co.uk/sites/bm/forum/posts.asp?topic_id=13237

Please note that I'm not expressing an opinion.                                                                                                                                                                               

Apart from the issues with the reliability of computers, you have to ask what the programming relies on - presumably it's just as hard for the computer to spot a motorbike as it apparently is for a car driver, although at least a computer won't get bored and distracted by its mobile phone...

Another issue would be calculating speed and distance whilst waiting at a junction. Especially if a bike is behind another vehicle.                                                                                                                                                                             

I did see something on the box about the technology being developed, and it was using 360° radar, and could identify pedestrians and cyclists, so in theory it might be better than a dozy half asleep human....

I'm curious about how it might affect bikes filtering - on my normal road out of Edinburgh the majority of drivers leave room for bikes filtering, but if a computer made every car sit dead centre within its lane, filtering would be much harder...                                                                                                                                                                             

After watching all the programmes about the technology etc......I still have to ask myself......would I really just sit there and trust a driverless car to drive me around?
How much will they cost?,and funny how Mr Gov thinks we're all going to be able to afford one? Haven't seen too many electric cars about.
It'll be like having single trams on computer lines instead of tracks.
My answer to it all.....no thanks.

It will never happen Insurance company's will block it the only way it would happen is on a track system bit like a Tram but smaller.
Aircraft DONT need a pilot would you ever get on a plan knowing there was no pilot up front ?
                                                                                                                                                                             

JP, I haven't been on a plane for 15 years or more.

And thanks, just getting a passport.....think I'll forget about that now lol x                                                                                                                                                                             

Planes are piloted by pilots the computers are NOT programmed to take off but they are programmed to land the plane and taxi to the end of the runway and shut down in the unlikely event that Both Pilot and 1st Officer are unable to land the Aircraft. You have more chance being run over than the plane forgetting how to fly.

If you look at statistics for accidents involving aircraft, it's mostly caused by pilot error and not by the aircraft...... So maybe driverless cars may work. But as already stated, who will be able to afford it. It's a bloody con.                                                                                                                                                                             

In a few tens of years YOU will all be driven round the bend by your automatic transport thingy. Big brother will see to it, thank the lord I was bourn when we lived rather than existed.                                                                                                                                                                                

It will be funded by the cost saved by fewer, if any, accidents.
Even the incompetent driver can't, or shouldn't, overrule an all-seeing computer guided machine.
Initially, this will be implemented to solve the problems caused by numpty car drivers.
Bike riders is another question.
Lots to think about.