You’re probably willing to use the self-checkout at your grocery store. It’s easy to trust a computer to do math. It’s hard to trust that same computer with your life. Are self driving cars safe? Read ahead to find out.
Common Accidents
First, let’s discuss the most common traffic accidents.
These are the kinds of problems Google hopes to solve.
I call the top two dangers the DD’s: Drunk and distracted driving.
Distracted driving usually involves a cellphone, but it can look a lot more innocent. I’m talking to you, moms – don’t check on your crying baby until you pull over. It can wait. Below are some revealing statistics:
- 37,000 Americans die in road crashes every year (source)
- 2.35 million more are injured in crashes annually (source)
- 95% of traffic accidents are caused by human error (source)
- 10,076 people died in drunk driving accidents in 2013 (source)
- 290,000 people were injured in drunk driving accidents in 2013 (source)
- 3,328 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011 (source)
- 421,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011 (source)
Those statistics paint a grim picture, huh? Google hopes its new technology can make things better.
If a person drinks too many martinis, they can simply take a nap in the backseat while the car takes them home.
Self driving cars will make distracted driving a non-issue. Moms could even sit right next to an upset child while the car travels itself to daycare. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Nuts and Bolts
Self driving cars are like Spider-man. They have a spider sense that warns them of incoming threats.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you hop in a self-driving car. It begins to pull out of your driveway, but all of a sudden radar detects a slow moving object.
After a quick scan, the self driving car identifies a boy riding a bicycle. In this case, the car would be smart enough to slam the brakes and wait until the boy is out of harm’s way. Cool, huh?
How is this possible? First, take another look at the photo at the top of this blog. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Did you notice the black device on top? That’s called the LIDAR system. It uses laser beams to determine how far away objects are.
This system can digest 1.3 million readings per second. Are you starting to see how a hyper aware self driving car might be able to detect threats more effectively than a human?
It’s hard to say how safe self driving cars really are, but they sound promising so far. I’m keeping a close eye on this story. I suggest you do the same. Please share this blog on Facebook so your friends can be informed like you.
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