Google has a lot of confidence in its self-driving cars. Last month, the company shared a report in which it claimed its autonomous cars actually drive better than humans do.
Google’s self-driving cars have so far traveled a total of 1.8 million miles. Although the cars were involved in a total of 12 road accidents so far, supposedly none of the incidences were caused by Google’s cars. The search giant believes its cars respond better to emergency situations than people do. The vast majority of the accidents involving the company’s self-driving cars included collisions and rear-ending. The situations were usually caused by the other vehicle with a human driver. Fortunately, none of the accidents caused major injuries.
Google’s self-driving cars have a proven record
The tech company also pointed out one big advantage that its autonomous cars have over human drivers. The cars can take in information regarding vehicles’ surroundings day or night–something a human driver can’t do. Google’s next goal for its self-driving car project is to test the vehicles on Virginia roads. Within the next five years, Google hopes to start rolling out the vehicles on the state’s busy highways.
Tesla looks to the future
Google isn’t the only company which has put a lot of faith in autonomous vehicles. Elon Musk from Tesla Motors expects to see self-driving vehicles arriving on the market in the next three years. During a meeting with shareholders on Tuesday, Musk said the first autopilot version of a Tesla is set to arrive next month.
Musk admitted his three-year estimate may take longer when counting in government regulations. He also explained that billions of miles must be logged into the system. The ultimate goal is to compare human reactions to car reactions. It is necessary to prove that autonomous cars are 10 times safer than human-driven cars.
