Controlling driving modes of self-driving vehicles

A self-driving vehicle (SDV) comprising:

• a sensor system comprising a plurality of sensors;
• vehicle controls comprising:
• engine throttle, steering mechanism, and braking system;
• a computer system comprising a processor coupled to a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing program code, the program code readable and executable by a processor;
• the computer system is capable of receiving a sensor reading from the system of sensors;
• the computer system is capable of operating the vehicle controls;
• the computer system is capable of determining the operational state of the self-driving vehicle (SDV);
• the computer system is capable of determining a vehicle fault;
• the computer system is capable of determining a competence level of the processor;
• the computer system is capable of determining competence level of a human driver;
• the computer system is capable of determining a corrective action using the competence level of the processor and the competence level of the human driver;
• the computer system is capable of implementing the corrective action;
• and
• the computer system is capable of issuing an alert indicating the corrective action.

A computer program product for controlling a driving mode of a self-driving vehicle (SDV), the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code readable and executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

• determining a competence level of a human driver, wherein the competence level describes a competence level of the human driver in controlling the SDV;
• receiving sensor readings from a system of sensors about the competence level of the human driver, wherein the SDV is operable to provide autonomous control of driver controls comprising:
• engine throttle, steering mechanism, braking system, and navigation;
• determining a competence level of a processor;
• determining a corrective action;
• the SDV implementing the corrective action wherein:
• the sensor readings comprise information about a current weather condition of a roadway on which the SDV is currently traveling;
• determining a corrective action comprises determining whether a fault has occurred and whether the fault exceeds a threshold for danger;
• the sensor readings comprise a reading from a GPS sensor;
• determining whether the fault exceeds the threshold for danger comprises weighted voting;
• a weighted voting parameter comprises active learning data, said active learning data including information from other SDVs.

A computer program product for controlling a driving mode of a self-driving vehicle (SDV), the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code readable and executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

• determining a competence level of a human driver using information about a human driver's control of the SDV;
• receiving a sensor reading from a system of sensors, wherein the system of sensors comprises a GPS sensor, a radar sensor, and a camera;
• determining a vehicle fault using the sensor reading;
• determining a corrective action;
• sending a control signal to a control system of the SDV corresponding to the corrective action.