Most major multinational automakers are developing their own so-called automated vehicles that are designed to control major functions such as steering, brakes and throttle, without human effort
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Urmson has said the company does not want to build its own self-driving cars, but would prefer to find a development and production partner. Their cars get hit so much that the company has chose to release a simulation of the latest accidents.
DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez confirmed that the Google employees did file a report on the crash. The driver also suffered whiplash, and their car’s “entire front bumper fell off”. He collided with the Google vehicle with 27 km/h (16 mph). But, this is the first time that injuries to humans have been reported. While the cars are driving themselves, traffic laws require someone to sit behind the wheel at all times. “That’s a big motivator for us”, he wrote in a blog post.
Google’s fleet of self-driving cars have driven over 1.8 million miles, including while being manually controlled, and has been involved in just 14 minor accidents.
“Other drivers have hit us 14 times since the start of our project in 2009 (including 11 rear-enders), and not once has the self-driving auto been the cause of the collision”, Urmson wrote.
(CNN) – Google’s self-driving vehicle had its first accident with injuries.
Google had mentioned the incident in a blog post on Thursday, without details on injuries. He believes it is due to drivers being distracted by their mobile phones. No major damage was done to the Google vehicle, although the other vehicle did lose a bumper.
All the cars are owned by Google and are being tested by Google employees.
However, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that vehicles equipped with automated collision avidance systems have already witnessed 7 to 15 percent reductions in front-end accidents.
They have sensors created to detect objects in all directions, including pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles?or even fluttering plastic shopping bags and rogue birds.
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Many car makers such as Lexus, Volvo, Mercedes and Hyundai have also been implementing part-autonomous technology in their cars.
