One issue not discussed enough is all this push for automation really needs road marking guidelines pushed down from the Federal level. While the feds can hold domain over the interstate system or roads it can be maddening the differences on right of way rules to simple markings at state level
That would be a mistake. You don't take a safety critical system and rely on a nationwide beauracracy getting all the details right to make it safe, or even effective. We've had the discussion here before, and the only way for full level 5 autonomy is a general AI capable of most everything a human is. Until people realize that it will be an endless stream of "we just need to fix these corner cases" or put more constraints on the physical world because the cars aren't smart enough.
The interstates follow very strict and powerful standards that make us all so much safer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_of_State_...
Okay, good.
I can assure you, there are hundreds of times that "strange" things happened to the road. Odd or incorrect lane markings, no lane markings, lanes beginning from the right and left, lanes ending suddenly on the right and the left, lanes marked as merge that were not, lanes not marked as merge that were, etc. etc. etc.
Every time I thought I could just stay in my lane with cruise set I found I was severely mistaken.
Most of the weirdness on the interstate system is usually caused by cities; having to adapt to preexisting conditions. As an example, I offer up Chicago. i290 is a mess. The Austion and Harlem exits are both left-handed exits. Worse yet, oncoming traffic are both given protected turns from the ramps. A lot of people dont follow the law and turn into the nearest lane. A lot of people drift, and a situation like this just breeds accidents. This is in oak park, a near west suburb. The Edens expressway (I90) also had expresslanes, which causes confusion, too. Not always open at the same time or direction.
Collectively decide what needs to be done for something to be considered safe enough, then regulate that it must be done that way for it to be allowed. Maybe this could be "self-driving car approved roads" and self-driving cars must check their navigation systems and only travel down approved roads. Drivers then get to lobby their local or state councils to make more roads follow the self-driving car markings and signage, and when they have, cars become permitted to drive down them next time they update.
Until people realize that it will be an endless stream of "we just need to fix these corner cases" or put more constraints on the physical world because the cars aren't smart enough.
That is one way of considering trains and trams, and they're good enough to be useful with extreme constraints on what they can do.
Who will fund that in a way that ensures a timely rollout (as in "sometime this century")? Who will pay to maintain it?
Unfortunately, self driving cars are just gonna have to deal with infrastructure as-built.
Yup especially because every country is USA.