Google’s self-driving car was imagined to help put an end to auto accidents across the country. The idea that a fully autonomous car could help to keep drivers, passengers, and several others safe is something that Google firmly believes. And that’s why this batch of self-driving cars under test currently are incapable of traveling at higher speeds than 25 mph.
According to a series of news reports, a Facebook user shared the moment a Google car was pulled over by a police officer in Mountain View earlier. The Facebook post shows that the occupant of the Google autonomous car claimed that the officer pulled the vehicle over because it was traveling at very low speeds.
The officer may have been caught by surprised when he realized that the driver he was pulling over was not a driver at all.
In order to address the incident, Google published a post saying that Google cars are intended to seem friendly and approachable. That’s one of the reasons behind their decision to keep the autonomous vehicles from traveling at high speeds.
Google also reported that many people flag self-driving cars down in order to learn more about the technology when they see it. That’s something that’s encouraged by the company.
As Google logs in 1.2 million miles of autonomous driving, many experts ask themselves whether the company will soon be ready to test vehicles that travel at higher speeds. Until then, we might not know just how safe the autonomous car technology can be. To many drivers who are uncomfortable with the idea of a computer doing all the driving, that may be a problem.
Until companies like Google are able to produce self-driving cars that offer drivers security and confidence, many will continue to feel some hostility toward the technology. To Google, taking the human factor out of the driving equation could result in fewer accidents and more safety.
For more on the incident, follow this link. For more on the Google car project, watch the video below.
