Self driving cars are coming, whether you’re ready or not. Google anticipates a launch date of 2020. Read ahead to catch up on the latest developments.
Imagine this scene…
You walk outside and a car pulls up beside your house.
You hop in, type a destination’s address, and push a button that says GO.
You fasten your safety belt, dig a book out of your purse, and get lost in a story while your car does all the work.
Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, right? As crazy as this might sound, self-driving cars could become a common sight.
Google’s prototypes have already traveled 1.7 million miles. After all that driving, they’ve only had 11 traffic accidents. Zero of them caused personal harm or property damage.
These fender benders typically involved things like being rear-ended at a stop sign or side-swiped at an intersection. None were caused by the self-driving car. This is exactly why Google wants to get your hands off the steering wheel.
According to a survey published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver error causes 94% of traffic accidents. The remaining accidents were caused by weather, obstructions, or a vehicle’s condition (psssst, I can help with that!). Moral of the story? Don’t pass the buck. Safety starts with you.
Self driving cars have a new challenge ahead of them. All of their miles were logged in familiar territory: Mountain City, CA (Google’s base of operations). Last summer, they began to travel public streets in California. They aren’t fully autonomous yet. They come with a removable steering wheel and gas/brake pedals just in case.
This story won’t be going away anytime soon. There are many unanswered questions. Feel free to bookmark this page so you can be in the loop. I’ll add new updates about self driving cars as they occur. Got a news? Please email audra [at] WomenAutoKnow.com. Click here to share this post with your friends so they can be informed like you.
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