Okay, so I should clarify: when I say “emergency stop” I mean EMERGENCY STOP. As in, trust the human to know what they’re doing, immediately slam on the breaks to the point of anti-lock, engage the parking brake once the wheels stop turning, and then straight-up cut power to the whole fucking thing by physically blowing the high-voltage disconnect. Hell, now that I think about it, it should probably just cut power instantly and have a purely mechanical fail-safe to lock the brakes so the car skids to a halt. (Screw anti-lock brakes; it’s not as important as getting the whole system shut off as quickly as possible.)
The point is, the passenger hitting that stop button means something is very very wrong and everything needs to stop and shut off right fucking now, regardless of circumstances. The computer may very well be in a fucked-up state and cannot be relied upon to control the car anymore. I mean, think about a worst-case scenario, something like “the car ran over a pedestrian who is now stuck in the wheel well and about to be shredded by the spinning tire / crushed by the wheel steering.” Enabling the car to continue to apply any control inputs other than braking, even for a fraction of a second (let alone the time to “find a safe place to stop”), would be unacceptable.
That’s how “emergency” an “emergency stop” is supposed to be!
you know trains have emergency stops that any passenger can pull, right? and yet i have never ever ever ever heard of that happening, despite trains regularly being literally full of passengers.
One big difference is that someone pulling a train estop for no good reason has to deal with other train passengers who would be unhappy that their trip is suddenly delayed for no good reason.
It’s a different dynamic if you’re alone or with friends/family in a car, even if pushing that estop is on a highway where it’s even more dangerous.
Although I can see how you could argue that the concepts of an “emergency stop” and an “emergency brake” aren’t technically completely identical in every respect (consider e.g. the difference between the emergency stop on a regular table saw vs. the blade brake on a SawStop), I think distinguishing between them in this case entails more nuance than actually exists.
Besides, I’m arguing for a system that would brake the wheels and shut off power to the whole car anyway.
Should’a, would’a, could’a. Capitalism 101, don’t fix a problem you created until either the PR gets to spicy, the government forces you to, or you get bought out and the process starts all over again.
The more obvious and easy to find that estop is, the more likely people will hit it in cases where they just want to stop without an emergency. Like say if the car is looking for a place to pull over but looks like it’s driving right by the destination. Some people will hit the estop without realizing it means “just stop right here until whatever reset process is completed”, others will know but figure it’s not their problem after they leave the vehicle, and some will do it deliberately to troll/harm other drivers or fellow passengers.
Though I completely agree that it’s something that should be there, I just think idiots and assholes will ruin it like they ruin many other things.
How the Hell did we let them get away with building these things without passenger-accessible emergency stop buttons?
They have passenger-accessible emergency stop buttons. The car bugged out and couldn’t find a safe place to stop.
Okay, so I should clarify: when I say “emergency stop” I mean EMERGENCY STOP. As in, trust the human to know what they’re doing, immediately slam on the breaks to the point of anti-lock, engage the parking brake once the wheels stop turning, and then straight-up cut power to the whole fucking thing by physically blowing the high-voltage disconnect. Hell, now that I think about it, it should probably just cut power instantly and have a purely mechanical fail-safe to lock the brakes so the car skids to a halt. (Screw anti-lock brakes; it’s not as important as getting the whole system shut off as quickly as possible.)
The point is, the passenger hitting that stop button means something is very very wrong and everything needs to stop and shut off right fucking now, regardless of circumstances. The computer may very well be in a fucked-up state and cannot be relied upon to control the car anymore. I mean, think about a worst-case scenario, something like “the car ran over a pedestrian who is now stuck in the wheel well and about to be shredded by the spinning tire / crushed by the wheel steering.” Enabling the car to continue to apply any control inputs other than braking, even for a fraction of a second (let alone the time to “find a safe place to stop”), would be unacceptable.
That’s how “emergency” an “emergency stop” is supposed to be!
You have some real confidence in people’s common sense. Every vehicle in the fleet would be blown inside a week.
you know trains have emergency stops that any passenger can pull, right? and yet i have never ever ever ever heard of that happening, despite trains regularly being literally full of passengers.
One big difference is that someone pulling a train estop for no good reason has to deal with other train passengers who would be unhappy that their trip is suddenly delayed for no good reason.
It’s a different dynamic if you’re alone or with friends/family in a car, even if pushing that estop is on a highway where it’s even more dangerous.
It does happen, just very rarely. Partly because, at least in Germany, that is a criminal offense. Which would be the same in a car by the way.
Idk I was just correcting your assumption…
I appreciate the effort, but if the button doesn’t work as I described, then it doesn’t count and my assumption was correct after all.
Well, what you’re describing is an emergency brake, similar to what you have on a train.
Although I can see how you could argue that the concepts of an “emergency stop” and an “emergency brake” aren’t technically completely identical in every respect (consider e.g. the difference between the emergency stop on a regular table saw vs. the blade brake on a SawStop), I think distinguishing between them in this case entails more nuance than actually exists.
Besides, I’m arguing for a system that would brake the wheels and shut off power to the whole car anyway.
It should be a kill switch, software independent.
Should’a, would’a, could’a. Capitalism 101, don’t fix a problem you created until either the PR gets to spicy, the government forces you to, or you get bought out and the process starts all over again.
That emergency brakes the vehicle in the middle of traffic?
As the last resort, yes.
If you see a baby or child just felt from sidewalk, you don’t hit brakes?
The more obvious and easy to find that estop is, the more likely people will hit it in cases where they just want to stop without an emergency. Like say if the car is looking for a place to pull over but looks like it’s driving right by the destination. Some people will hit the estop without realizing it means “just stop right here until whatever reset process is completed”, others will know but figure it’s not their problem after they leave the vehicle, and some will do it deliberately to troll/harm other drivers or fellow passengers.
Though I completely agree that it’s something that should be there, I just think idiots and assholes will ruin it like they ruin many other things.
I do, if I’m driving. But the passenger is not the driver.