Google Inc on Monday said that even self-driving cars that can sense and react faster than humans still wind up in accidents.
“We’ve been hit from behind seven times, mainly at traffic lights, but also on the freeway,” Chris Urmson, the head of Google’s autonomous car program, said in an online post. “We’ve also been side-swiped a couple of times and hit by a car rolling through a stop sign.”
Google self-driving cars, of which there are now more than 20, have been in 11 minor accidents in the six years since the project began, but they did not cause any of the crashes, according to Urmson.
Photo: Bloomberg
None of the accidents involved injuries, Google said.
Google self-driving cars, which have “safety drivers” at the wheels to take over when deemed appropriate, have logged about 2.7 million kilometers, according to the California-based Internet titan.
“Even when our software and sensors can detect a sticky situation and take action earlier and faster than an alert human driver, sometimes we won’t be able to overcome the realities of speed and distance; sometimes we’ll get hit just waiting for a light to change,” Urmson said.
“And that’s important context for communities with self-driving cars on their streets; although we wish we could avoid all accidents, some will be unavoidable,” he said.
Google’s fleet of self-driving cars are averaging about 16,000 autonomous kilometers weekly, mostly on city streets.
“All the crazy experiences we’ve had on the road have been really valuable for our project,” Urmson said. “We have a detailed review process and try to learn something from each incident, even if it hasn’t been our fault.”
Non-profit organization Consumer Watchdog called for Google to release reports of accidents involving driverless cars in California so people can decide for themselves whether to trust the technology.
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