In a report filed by Google with California regulators, it is stated that a self-driving Lexus collided with a municipal bus on the 14th of February 2016. According to the report, which was made on the 23rd of February 2016, the self-driving Lexus was travelling a mere 2 miles per hour when the crash occurred as the driverless car was attempting to navigate its way around a pile of sandbags located in a wide lane.
Google’s self-driving Lexus and test driver supposed the municipal bus, which was travelling at around 15 miles per hour, would slow down and let them pass but this did not happen. Moments later, as the Lexus moved to the centre of the road, the two vehicles collided. No one was hurt and the damage was minor, confined to the fender and wheel on the front left side as well as the sensor located on the driver’s side of the Lexus.
Google admits some responsibility for the unfortunate event which occurred in the city of Mountain View, California and as a result the company has been forced to make a few adjustments to the software which governs their self-driving cars. The driverless car software and technology will now comprehend that larger vehicles are less likely to yield than are other types of vehicles. To be fair to Google, the collision seems to have been the consequence of the same kind of issues that result in car accidents that happen every day, misunderstandings and the failure to correctly anticipate the way in which another vehicle is about to act.
In November of 2015 Google stated that during a testing period of six years, covering more than two million miles of combined manual and autonomous driving, seventeen minor collisions had occurred. Google went on to say that, in all seventeen cases, their driverless cars were not to blame. In the majority of cases their vehicles were hit in the tail end by other road users.
Further information suggests that Google is currently engaged in discussions with transport authorities in the UK, the intended outcome would be the permitting of driverless cars to be tested throughout England. The vast number of jobs recently posted by Google suggests the company intends to grow its team of people working in the driverless car department, the job postings are aimed at people with skills in the areas of manufacturing, engineering, sourcing of supplies, programming, robotics, hardware and software designers. If you are looking to work for Google, this may be a good time for you to get in on the action.
In light of the recent collision experienced between Google’s self-driving Lexus and one of California’s municipal buses, the examination of potential benefits of a driverless car becomes of vital importance. Why is Google so determined to pursue this technology and what are the potential benefits?
Google has suggested that the introduction of autonomous cars would enable people to move around their communities with ease, knowing their safety has been prioritised no matter how capable they are as drivers. Age, ability to see and physical impairment will no longer be a factor when self-driving cars become the norm on our roads. Death as result of traffic accidents could potentially be greatly reduced as it is estimated that up to 94% of car accidents are the result of error by humans. Thrillingly, it has been proposed that these driverless cars may be available to the public sometime between 2017 and 2020.
We at Boost Digital Marketing Solutions cannot wait for the day that fatality and personal injury will no longer be a factor on our roads and in our daily life.