Self-Driving Google Car To Reduce Road Traffic Accidents In The Future?
Google has announced that the cars in its self-driving car team have now finished the equivalent of 12 round-the-globe trips as part of the ongoing tests into making self-driving cars viable for commuters – and help reduce road traffic accidents.
The success of the trials means that one day all commuters could enjoy the journey to work in a self-driving car, which would be controlled using Google’s existing mapping technology to avoid road traffic accidents and collisions on the road.
The people testing the self-driving cars currently travels in pairs but soon the Google team is anticipating that individual drivers will be able to take the cars out on the road.
In June, Nevada was the first US state to grant a licence to Google to allow its self-driving car to take to the roads in rush hour traffic.
The cars had been tested on Las Vegas Strip and Carson City and passed the traffic tests safely.
The cars are also carbon friendly, with the Prius being one model adapted for the self-driving car trials.
Google researchers are now working on more advanced challenges for their self-driving cars, including tackling snowy conditions.
The cars have so far managed to drive 300k miles without having an accident and while navigating on their own through different traffic conditions and challenges.
“To provide the best experience we can, we’ll need to master snow-covered roadways, interpret temporary construction signals and handle other tricky situations that many drivers encounter.”
The next stage of using soloGoogle team members to drive about in the self-driving cars is a huge advance, says Urmson:
“This is an important milestone, as it brings this technology one step closer to every commuter.
“One day we hope this capability will enable people to be more productive in their cars. For now, our team members will remain in the driver’s seats and will take back control if needed.”
The Lexus RX450h will be used for the next stage of the trials involving negotiating different terrains.
The Google self-driving cars work by creating a “virtual buffer zone” round cars and objects it detects in its path and around it on the road, making it more sensitive to possible collision risks than many drivers at the wheel.
Google self-driving cars could take to the roads within three to five years if trials continue to go well.
Vehicle Accident Compensation will compensate you for any suffering caused by an accident behind the wheel.