Posted on 05/12/2015 9:25:03 AM PDT by grundle
LOS ANGELES — Google Inc. revealed Monday that its self-driving cars have been in 11 minor traffic accidents since it began experimenting with the technology six years ago.
The company released the number after The Associated Press reported that Google had notified California of three collisions involving its self-driving cars since September, when reporting all accidents became a legal requirement as part of the permits for the tests on public roads.
The director of Google’s self-driving car project wrote in a web post that all 11 accidents were minor — “light damage, no injuries” — and happened over 1.7 million miles of testing, including nearly 1 million miles in self-driving mode.
“Not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident,” wrote Google’s Chris Urmson.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
You should make a list.
I can get a black-market ride if I need one.
/johnny
But how many of those accidents could have been avoided with a human driver? Maybe all of them.
How does it know to stop at traffic lights and stop signs?
will Asian robocars be the worst drivers?
That’s an interesting question... is the robocar good at avoiding them, not just keeping from being “at fault”?
Mexican robotaxis would be...
Are computers required to carry insurance in California?
If two robocars run into each other will there be a simulated truculent verbal exchange?
I know a guy who’s wife has that many in a year...
Will the “self driving” car be able to distinguish between a squirrel and a dog? A kid on a bike and a plastic bag blowing across your way?
How will it handle merges?
What about motorcycles?
What about human drivers who lose patience with the danmed thing?
IIRC the rate of accidents for any cause of the average driver is about 3 per million miles. If this is the case the self driving car is having more accidents than what is to be expected if they are to be considered less likely to have an accident than a human.
“No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the term, foolproof and incapable of error.”
Sing it to me, Hal!
According to other articles about this that I read earlier... there were humans at the controls for some of the accidents, but the computer was doing the driving.
So apparently, a human in the loop didn't really help.
I'm with you. I'd like to see how many accidents were avoided when a human was present. There had to be some.
/johnny
No problem, we will need to hire more auto body repairmen and thereby begin to grow the economy!
Except that the cars themselves are navigating in a world full of people and become the source of the accidents themselves.
Also there’s the issue of them “only” being in this many accidents. Its a meaningless statement without knowing how many of the cars are on the road. Were 10 cars involved in 11 accidents or was it 100 cars?
I believe the one thing lacking is ..
Defensive Driving.
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