Google Self-Driving Car Accident Reports

[Anaxagoras]

"Luddites"?

I'm talking about the same sort of people who already high jack trucks and steal cargo.

This is a case of automation making someone's job easier.

I'm not sure it would actually be any easier than highjacking a truck with a human driver. In some ways it might be harder, given countermeasures. With no driver to hold hostage, police can be informed immediately. And the truck and trailer could be "hardened" in various ways. With GPS, they know exactly where the truck and trailer is at all times, so they could tell the police exactly where to go.

The original luddites weren't technophobes, they were angry that they were being put out of a job, and that their skills were being make obsolete, so they would try to destroy machines in the mills that were competing with them.

The Luddites were a group of English textile workers and weavers in the 19th century who destroyed weaving machinery as a form of protest. The group was protesting the use of machinery in a "fraudulent and deceitful manner" to get around standard labour practices.[1] Luddites feared that the time spent learning the skills of their craft would go to waste as machines would replace their role in the industry.[2] It is a misconception that the Luddites protested against the machinery itself in an attempt to halt the progress of technology. Over time, however, the term has come to mean one opposed to industrialisation, automation, computerisation, or new technologies in general.[3] The Luddite movement began in Nottingham and culminated in a region-wide rebellion that lasted from 1811 to 1816. Mill owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed with military force.

[Rob Lister]

Theodore Kaczynski was a luddite of the the second type; against automation and computerization in general. He thought it would do to us exactly what it indeed did to us.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Typically, those who high jack trucks leave the driver unharmed if he doesn't fight, because why risk a felony murder charge when you're in it for the money?

So shit like stopping a speeding truck by shooting out the tires is right out.

But with no driver to worry about ...

[Anaxagoras]

Typically, those who high jack trucks leave the driver unharmed if he doesn't fight, because why risk a felony murder charge when you're in it for the money?

So shit like stopping a speeding truck by shooting out the tires is right out.

But with no driver to worry about ...

As a similar example, which one is easier to rob, a bank or an ATM machine? I guess the most common method to steal directly from an ATM is a so-called "ram raid" or "crash and grab". You need a large stolen vehicle to do that, so the crime would seem to involve first stealing a pickup truck or SUV. Another way is to mug somebody at an ATM and make them withdraw money, but with most ATMs having like a $200 limit, that has fairly meager results. Basically, if it was too easy, ATMs probably wouldn't exist, because the risk of robbery would make the whole enterprise unprofitable. On the other hand, there are over 4000 bank robberies in the US every year according to the FBI statistics. You don't even need a real gun to do it, sometimes just a hand in the pocket pretending to have a gun does the trick.

So I'm sure it will happen, it's just a question of how often, and how risky is it for the would-be criminals.

[Abdul Alhazred]

I see self driving trucks as being no more armored than regular trucks.

Sure they could be built like tanks (including even AI controlled weaponry if you like), but that nullifies the cost savings in terms of increased fuel + tearing up the roads.

[Rob Lister]

Another way is to mug somebody at an ATM and make them withdraw money, but with most ATMs having like a $200 limit, that has fairly meager results....

$700 at my bank, Up to $2000 at some. That's a respectable mugging.

I see self driving trucks as being no more armored than regular trucks.
Sure they could be built like tanks (including even AI controlled weaponry if you like), but that nullifies the cost savings in terms of increased fuel + tearing up the roads.

Draw me a picture of how you think a robbery might take place here 'cause the way I see it, it would look the same as robbing a human-driven truck except they can't steal the truck itself and nobody has the keys to the rear cargo doors. So once they bust that lock, what then? They can't steal the truck itself. Did they bring another semi to steal the cargo? Oh, and the whole thing is being recorded six ways to Sunday and the cops are already on the way, btw.

Sure, it will happen, but less frequently.

[Abdul Alhazred]

They steal the cargo with another (smaller) truck, not necessarily the whole cargo of course. As sometimes done now, because police aren't looking for the other truck.

You do know that professionals do not hit vulnerable looking trucks at random (as it might be street muggings)?

They know their cargo ahead of time and already have a buyer lined up.

[Rob Lister]

They steal the cargo with another (smaller) truck, not necessarily the whole cargo of course. As sometimes done now, because police aren't looking for the other

You're just being Clausian here.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Not at all.

This is already a common MO.

Just accept I know more about truck high jacking than you.

[Rob Lister]

Not at all.

This is already a common MO.

Just accept I know more about truck high jacking than you.

You still haven't explained why this will be more common with self-driving cars.

I've shown why it will probably be less common.

[Grammatron]

Truck hijackings have not really been a thing since the 70's and a bit into 80's.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Truck hijackings have not really been a thing since the 70's and a bit into 80's.

Much less than the good old days, sure.

But automation will revive the "industry".

[Grammatron]

Truck hijackings have not really been a thing since the 70's and a bit into 80's.

Much less than the good old days, sure.

But automation will revive the "industry".

My understanding of the "industry" is that it existed before GPS and fully fleshed out interstate highway system. Also most of the "industry" were bike gangs. I just can't see how it can continue or be revived.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Hold on, I just thought of something.

All bets are off everything I said about automated trucks if they have armed guards.

You could even get the Teamsters on board by having a retraining program.

Problem solved.

[sparks]

The Teamsters?
The idea is to cut costs. Simper, cheaper: Truck gets hijacked, it auto-destructs taking out everything in, say, a 10 block radius. Now that, is the problem solved.

[Abdul Alhazred]

At least the lawyer will get rich

[sparks]

Why not? They're the only ones getting rich right now anyway. (Well, and not being indicted for it later)

[Witness]

No accident, but things to come:

[sparks]

Humans are such a batch of fucking foolz.

[Anaxagoras]

35-second video but you can skip the first 25 seconds.