What is the number one cause of traffic accidents in the world? Well, if you were to ask someone at Google, it’s the drivers themselves; thus inspired the great minds at the Mountain View company to create a self-driving car that will cut the number of vehicular deaths in half. After 300,000 miles of accident-free driving, the project can be noted as so far, so good.
300,000 accident-free miles sounds pretty nice two years after announced this revolutionary new project but there are some stipulations to that incredible number; the cars in testing have encountered any real winter weather yet (snow, hale, sleet, etc) nor have they been through any construction zones being that they cannot yet interpret the various signs into the variant of driving styles needed to stay safe on the road. It is also noted that there has been the “occasionally” assistance of the researchers riding along inside the cars to ensure they avoid any real danger. Even with those caveats, it is still an amazing achievement towards the future of commuting and safer roads for all.
There are still those concerned with the differences of human reaction times and relying on a computer to make the right choice instead of just the logical one, i.e. iRobot. It will be several years before we start to see the commercial uses of this innovative technology and maybe then we will see the real benefits of vehicular man over machine.
