with significant fuzz factor, agreed. If i'm on the sidewalk and take a step toward the road, should it make the car jerk? Probably not, it's a hard call for passenger comfort. From another angle, think of subway tracks - the algo your describing would slow to a crawl as it crosses every station.
> From another angle, think of subway tracks - the algo your describing would slow to a crawl as it crosses every station.
As far as trains go, they do slow down when passing trough a track adjacent to a platform. There are some non-platform adjacent tracks the train companies use to avoid slowing down, however they will slow down or even stop if something is going on.
Similarly, high speed rail doesn't have level crossings due to safety considerations. Overall trains are very safe and they are _designed_ for safety. It is highly irresponsible and immoral to just wing it with people's life/safety.
> It is highly irresponsible and immoral to just wing it with people's life/safety
100% agree.
> As far as trains go, they do slow down when passing trough a track adjacent to a platform. There are some non-platform adjacent tracks the train companies use to avoid slowing down, however they will slow down or even stop if something is going on.
The equivalency isn't 'trains slow down through stations' (That would be cars having lower speedlimit in pedestrian areas - they do and the ubers honor) , it would be 'train spikes breaks if someone takes a step toward the edge' (Which they don't, even though it would potentially save lives).
There's always a tradeoff between usability and absolute safety. I'm not saying the uber did nothing wrong, at a minimum it should have spiked it's breaks. The 'perfect world' solution would be the uber knowing mass and momentum of approaching objects, and whether they could stop in time. But honestly, here would that have helped? We'll never get rid of people walking in front of moving cars, just have to be find the happy balance (which we clearly haven't)
> 'train spikes breaks if someone takes a step toward the edge' (Which they don't, even though it would potentially save lives).
A train's deceleration under maximum braking is far, far lower than a car. [1] suggests 1.2m/s² (paragraph 8).
[2] says the deceleration of a low-speed train crashing into the buffers at the end of the line in a station should not be more than 2.45m/s² (paragraph 35). That caused "minor injuries" to some passengers.
Trains do slow down earlier if the platform they are approaching is very crowded, but there's not really anything else they can do.
> If I'm on the sidewalk and take a step toward the road, should it make the car jerk?
No. That's my point. Take less drastic measures earlier, and only escalate when you have to. That's how I drive, and a self-driving car can do the same.
