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Comment by Justsignedup | Hacker News Reader

> I don't think most of us would automatically want to share the roads with a bunch of mentally ill drivers, even if, statistically, they were better than neurotypical drivers.

I'm not scared of mentally ill drivers. I'm scared of rich 16 year olds. I'm scared of drunk drivers. I'm scared of drivers sitting so low they can't see most of what is happening around them. I'm scared of drivers having seizures while driving (my mom was hit a while ago by a man who lost his license due to seizures, and still refused to stop driving). I'm scared of drivers who drive without a license because "fuck them, I drive when I want to". I'm scared of people mixing up gas and break pedals (just got hit by one), in cars which can go 0-60 in 2.6 seconds weighing 6000lbs.

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>I'm scared of people mixing up gas and break pedals

This specific problem is just as much a design flaw as it is a PEBCAC issue.

You have two very similar pedals that perform polar opposite functions right next to each other, and they are both operated by the same foot.

I'm surprised this isn't a bigger problem.

I had to look up the 'PEBKAC' acronym, but I think you allude to the problem of human factors engineering. It's commonplace in aerospace, where safety-critical, time-sensitive decisions must be made, and humans are in the loop. I would extend this to autonomous driving systems, particularly when you expand the system boundaries beyond the car itself. Humans are part of that human-car-environment system, whether as pedestrians, passengers, or other drivers and we should give them consideration.

an average of 44 per day in the US. So... common, but relatively, uncommon. And apparently there is software that can help mitigate this.

Slight trolling here: That is a lot of scared. Do you also drive wearing a helmet and protective body suit?

    man who lost his license due to seizures, and still refused to stop driving

If I have to guess, probably the man's livelihood depends upon driving to a job. That is probably why he kept driving.

oh absolutely not. he was like 80, retired, and refused to stop driving. Hit my pregnant mom.

Another one, suspended license, got drunk, and decided to play pinball with the car my fiance was in, causing lifelong injuries.

You can't get away from those. America is just a fun place.

I'm sorry to hear about these tragedies in your life.

    You can't get away from those.

I disagree. I recommend that you either leave the US for a different highly advanced economy, or find a US city with decent mass transit. Yes, it will require major changes to your life. Your chance of personal injury while riding mass transit is virtual nil -- a rounding error.

Ah got it, so your solution is to uproot my entire family to optimize for this one issue. Damage is already done. Plus where would I go? Who would take an old man like myself who won't be an ROI on taxes paid before retirement?

> Ah got it, so your solution is to uproot my entire family to optimize for this one issue.

If these tragedies you describe keep happening (as described), and the fault you identified points directly to the problems of American drivers, I find it shocking you suddenly describe it as "this one issue". Either it's as problematic as you described or it's not.

Something can be quite problematic but still cost more to cure than the harms incurred.

And if one believes that, e.g. self driving cars will do a lot to address it in the next decade, they especially might not want to incur the costs of the alternatives.

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