Google introduced autonomous or driver-less cars in 2009. It
is believed these self-driving vehicles will be the future of vehicle
transportation. With autonomous cars, accidents could be greatly reduced due to
the fact that these types of vehicles are designed to follow the rules of the road
and avoid reckless driving, or other distracted and driver-error crashes.
However, these vehicles are not perfect. In fact, some have
even gotten into a few accidents. The most recent one that has caused
controversy is an accident that happened on February 14, 2016 in California. A
Google self-driving car, while operating in “autonomous mode,” changed lanes on
a roadway and got struck, as it cut in front of a bus. The irony is that the
collision was caused because the computer-controlled car apparently exercised
the same faulty judgment that a human would have: It saw the bus coming, but
“believed the bus would stop or slow to allow the Google vehicle to continue.” Approximately
three seconds later, as the Google AV was reentering the center of the lane it
made contact with the side of the bus. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but
this still serves as a reminder that some work still needs to be done before we
all trust driverless cars to drive us safely in the future.
Even though these vehicles can make errors just as humans
do, they still have the
possibility of making a lot of positive changes on the road, as long as there
are no other human-driven cars. If human-driven cars become obsolete and the
only vehicles on the road are robot cars that are made to follow the rules and
drive safely, then the roads will be a much safer place for everybody. This
safety benefit is what is prompting Google and other companies to take on this
innovation. However, there will still be many, many years till we see these
vehicles regularly on the road. Not only because they still need some work done
on them to perform with very minimal flaws, but also because it’s going to take
a long time to have these vehicles take over the road. Researchers believe just
10% of light vehicles sold in 2035 will be autonomous, and that we won’t see
full autonomous ubiquity until 2050.
If
you or someone you know has been involved in a car crash or truck accident in
Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Sterling Heights, Lansing, Flint, Ann Arbor,
Livonia, Dearborn, Canton, Westland, Troy, Farmington Hills, Southfield,
Waterford or any other city in Michigan, make sure to contact Motor City
Accident Attorneys by calling 1-800-411-PAIN. Motor City Accident Attorneys
know how stressful a car accident can be and want to help you get back on your
feet. They will fight tirelessly for your rights and help you get the
compensation you deserve, according to your specific case. Make sure to follow
Motor City Accident Attorneys on Twitter (@MCAccidentAtty) and Facebook. Join
the conversation by using #MCAA.
