actually, the technology already exists for cars to be able to detect obstacles & apply the brakes. They just haven't worked out the kinks in it yet. ( AFAIK, they haven't yet made them reliable enough...) so in future, it's not impossible that driverless cars could actually get through the whiteout without hitting any obstacles.
but yeah, there'll need to either be an option for the driver to take over for the computer in driverless cars while there are still human-controlled cars in the roads, or some form of emergency stop button.
also, why have such a system limited to just whiteout conditions? you could have the same "oh shit! I've crashed!" alert be issued whenever a car crashes. ( for that matter, there's no reason that in a crash situation that warrants it, the car alerts emergency services automatically. ( by situation that warrants it, I mean that if you've merely bumped into a wall while parking, I doubt you want the car calling for an ambulance, and the ambulance crew would definitely rather be going to an actually important call. while if you've been in a high-speed crash on the motorway, the minutes saved by having the call go out immediately could save lives.)
but yeah, there'll need to either be an option for the driver to take over for the computer in driverless cars while there are still human-controlled cars in the roads, or some form of emergency stop button.
also, why have such a system limited to just whiteout conditions? you could have the same "oh shit! I've crashed!" alert be issued whenever a car crashes. ( for that matter, there's no reason that in a crash situation that warrants it, the car alerts emergency services automatically. ( by situation that warrants it, I mean that if you've merely bumped into a wall while parking, I doubt you want the car calling for an ambulance, and the ambulance crew would definitely rather be going to an actually important call. while if you've been in a high-speed crash on the motorway, the minutes saved by having the call go out immediately could save lives.)
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