Self-driving cars now legal in California

[ScienceRocks]

Self-driving cars now legal in California

Self-driving cars now legal in California - CNN.com

By Heather Kelly, CNN

updated 9:34 PM EDT, Tue September 25, 2012 | Filed under: Innovations


California Gov. Jerry Brown, left, California State Sen. Alex Padilla, center, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin exit a self-driving car at the Google headquarters.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that will regulate self-driving cars in California
Google co-founder Sergey Brin hopes to have self-driving cars on public roads within five years
Brin says self-driving cars address safety, traffic and lifestyle issues

(CNN) -- California is the latest state to allow testing of Google's self-driving cars on the roads, though only with a human passenger along as a safety measure.

Gov. Edmund "Jerry" Brown signed the autonomous-vehicles bill into law Tuesday afternoon alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin and State Sen. Alex Padilla, who authored the bill, at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. The bill, SB 1298, will set up procedures and requirements for determining when the cars are road-ready.

Brin hopes that self-driving cars will be able to drive on public streets in five years or less.

You won't need a driver's license by 2040

"Anybody who first gets in the car and finds the car is driving will be a little skittish. But they'll get over it." said Brown when asked if the California Highway Patrol was on board with the plan.

Google's self driving Prius
The cars use a combination of technologies, including radar sensors on the front, video cameras aimed at the surrounding area, various other sensors and artificial-intelligence software that helps steer. Google is the most visible company working on these types of vehicles, but similar projects are under way at other organizations, including Caltech.

Google has already been testing the cars on the road in Nevada, which passed a law last year authorizing driverless vehicles. Both Nevada and California require the cars to have a human behind the wheel who can take control of the vehicle at any time.

So far, the cars have have racked up more than 300,000 driving miles, and 50,000 of those miles were without any intervention from the human drivers, Google says.

Overheard on CNN.com: Autonomous cars reduce 'crashes'?

There have been no accidents while the cars were controlled by the computer. The only documented accident with one of the Google vehicles was a fender bender that took place while a human was in control.

Brin, who sported a pair of Google glasses at the media event without comment, said the cars could address a variety of current transportation issues. First and foremost, he said, the self-driving cars would be safer than human-driven cars. There were just under 33,000 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 2010.

They also could ferry around people who are usually unable to to drive, such as blind people.

"Some people have other disabilities, some people are too young, some people are too old, sometimes we're too intoxicated," said Brin.

Ideally, a car that drives itself can minimize traffic by chaining together with other self-driving vehicles and using highways more efficiently. Drivers wouldn't be limited to listening to NPR and honking during their morning commute; instead they could use that time to be productive, like the millions of people who take public transit currently do.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Calif.. always ahead of the curve...

September 26, 2012


California; Self-Driving Cars

"California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Tuesday that would allow self-driving cars on roads there.

Brown signed the measure during a ceremony at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

"We are looking at science fiction becoming reality in a self-driving car," Brown said."
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. . . . . .


*

"They're possessed by SATAN!!!!"​

​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Fxp3HK6DI]Google's Ass-kicking Self-Driving Car - YouTube[/ame]


No Christian Exorcists On Board!!​

 

[Katzndogz]

Self driving cars are safer than cars with mexicans driving.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Everyone knows that getting your drivers license is the ticket to freedom. Now, if cars drive themselves, where's the Freedom?

Those cars are controlled by Satellites and Computers, not you.

With Computers deciding which routes to take to maximize efficiency, don't be surprised if one day you can't go where you want because a Computer decided that you didn't need to go. That your trip was unnecessary so it won't let you go.

Oh you don't think that'll happen? I guarantee you it will!

What these computer controlled cars mean for the future is that some nameless, faceless administrator (Like OldRocks or GreenBeard) will decide how much you can drive a month and shut your car down remotely and automatically when it's decided that you've driven enough.

 

[Sallow]

Self driving cars?

Ugh.

 

[whitetrashmama]

This is crazy. makes me think of all the ct's (ct = conspiracy theorist) who think that going from car to public transport is Big Brother Taking Control: yet look at this! Bad enuff the car drviers are photo'd everywhere they go, who is going to be sure those self-driving vehicles listen to YOUR program and not some Big Brother (time to visit the nice people at the clinic.... no you can't go thru the burger drive-in!) Mayor Bloomberg will drive all the cars in New York!!!!

I will stick with my anonymous little bus-pass and trust human drivers...

BTW, have they tested those self-driving cars against bicyclists? Or
chihuahuas chasing cats? Hmmm?????

 

[Bill Angel]

Another problem is construction zones.
I suppose that the autodrive system will switch to manual operation when it detects that roadwork such as road paving is occuring. So these cars will never be able to operate without a licensed proficient driver behind wheel to take over in this type of circumstance.

 

[Katzndogz]

Self driving cars will make things like police chases a thing of the past. When a car gets the signal it will drive itself to the police station. Speeding will be impossible as will drunk driving. Ford will have to change the name of the Escape to the WeGotCha.

 

[waltky]

Granny say she gonna get one so's she don't have to ride with Uncle Ferd...

Will driverless cars mean computer crashes?
Monday, 1 October - Will self-driving cars become a reality?

Google co-founder Sergey Brin believes that "self-driving cars will be far safer than human-driven cars" but who trusts them enough to drive in them or even alongside them? Drivers will not need a driving license by 2040. At least that is what the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers believes. It thinks autonomous cars capable of driving to any destination are set to become the norm. With an estimated 90% of current car accidents thought to be caused by human error, taking people out of the equation is seen by many car companies as a massive boost to safety.

But most qualified drivers do not seem to think they would be the ones in trouble. "Most drivers think they are better than average drivers," says psychologist Dr Graham Hole, of the University of Sussex, who has published work on the psychology of driving. "People typically have a very inflated view of their own abilities as far as driving is concerned." A large number of companies are investing in autonomous driving technology.

General Motors, Volkswagen, Google, Volvo, BMW, Audi, Mercedes and many more are all in vehicle autonomy trial stages to a level not seen before. But who is a better driver - man or machine? And if there is a clear winner, how are drivers - or technical experts - convinced of the findings? In the US in 2010 - 32,885 people died in motor vehicle crashes - the lowest number on record for over 20 years. This is the equivalent of 1.11 fatalities for every 100 million miles travelled on US roads, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It will take Google 300 million miles of driving without fatal incident - Bryant Walker Smith, of Stanford Law School, believes - to prove that autonomous cars are significantly safer. But even if these figures are proved to be true, we will still take some convincing before we hand over control to a computer. Psychologists believe people are more scared of things not under their direct control, pointing towards the fear of flying, nuclear power and even food preservatives.

'Crash dummy'