This isn't cause for concern unless someone unaffiliated with Dan O'Dowd manages to reproduce it.
krunck · 11h ago
Honestly, I don't know if I could have stopped in time for some of those. I applaud the people for testing this though. I wish they had a way to test different length of time between when the dummy slides out and when impact would happen if no braking occurred.
Veserv · 11h ago
There is a school bus with stop signs out and lights flashing. You are legally required to stop until they are retracted.
That law exists for the express purpose of giving drivers ample time and opportunity to stop in a situation where school children may cross unexpectedly to avoid the need for split-second decision making to avert known disaster. Being unable to handle school bus stop signs predictably results in the outcome they were literally invented to avoid.
tzs · 10h ago
I'm curious how well FSD handles situations where you are not required to stop for a school bus stop sign and flashing lights?
Stopping when you do not have to is not as bad as not stopping when you do have to, but it does increase the chances of an accident, so ideally self-driving cars should get both stopping and not stopping right.
In my state, Washington, the rules are:
1. If you are traveling in the same direction as the bus you must stop.
2. If you are traveling in the opposite direction and the road has only two lines and the lanes are not separated by a median you must stop.
3. If you are traveling in the opposite direction and has two lanes separated by a median, or it has three or more lanes, you do not have to stop.
I believe the reason that opposite direction traffic is not required to stop if there is a median or there are at least three lanes is that the law requires that school bus stops be placed such that no children using them will have to cross the bus stop's street except when that is a two lane street with no median.
Veserv · 10h ago
It appears to just treat school bus stop signs as regular stop signs. So, it will most likely only do a brief stop if the stop sign is in its lane. Otherwise it will not stop at all.
simondotau · 4h ago
What they tested was the recognition of school bus stop signs. The impossible-to-avoid dummy serves no purpose in the test other than to create a "hook" for media and social media.
That law exists for the express purpose of giving drivers ample time and opportunity to stop in a situation where school children may cross unexpectedly to avoid the need for split-second decision making to avert known disaster. Being unable to handle school bus stop signs predictably results in the outcome they were literally invented to avoid.
Stopping when you do not have to is not as bad as not stopping when you do have to, but it does increase the chances of an accident, so ideally self-driving cars should get both stopping and not stopping right.
In my state, Washington, the rules are:
1. If you are traveling in the same direction as the bus you must stop.
2. If you are traveling in the opposite direction and the road has only two lines and the lanes are not separated by a median you must stop.
3. If you are traveling in the opposite direction and has two lanes separated by a median, or it has three or more lanes, you do not have to stop.
I believe the reason that opposite direction traffic is not required to stop if there is a median or there are at least three lanes is that the law requires that school bus stops be placed such that no children using them will have to cross the bus stop's street except when that is a two lane street with no median.