Home Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Rare Self-Driving Car Crash: Tests Continue in Austin
Automotive, News, Technology

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Rare Self-Driving Car Crash: Tests Continue in Austin

Victor Alagbe

Google Inc. self-driving cars are getting smarter with each passing day as they gather tons of data on real-world driving situations. Google reports that its self-driving car prototypes are heading to the streets of Austin this month. 25 self-driving Lexus RX450h SUVs have already begun road tests in Austin and Google is adding its cute Panda-like self-driving cars in the data-gathering phase on Austin roads.

Google (GOOG) Self Driving Cars

Chris Urmson, Program leader for Google’s self-driving cars given insights about the project in the firm’s monthly report for self-driving car project. He notes that the firm’s self-driving cars are current having an average of 10,000 autonomous miles per week on public streets. Since the project began in 2009, it has logged 1,158,818 miles on autonomous mode. Google’s self-driving cars are still a couple of years away from public use but Urmson notes that he doesn’t want his son (currently 11) to need a driving license.

Another rear-end collision reported

An important point to note in the report is the low number of accidents that Google cars have reported up to date. The firm noted “in the six years of our project, we’ve been involved in 16 minor accidents during more than 2 million miles of autonomous and manual driving combined. Not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident.”

The last accident involving a Google self-driving car was on August 20. The firm reported that a Google AV operating in self-driving mode began slowing down to yield to a pedestrian. However, the test driver on board followed protocol in taking over manually, only to break too hard. The hard breaking led to a rear end collision by the vehicle at the back who clearly didn’t leave enough space between itself and the AV.

A replay of the event shows that the car would have stopped safely if the autonomous mode was left to handle the situation. The firm notes “our software might have created some extra margin in a situation where fractions of inches and seconds mattered”.

Google is ahead of the curve in the AV race

Google is leading the pace across many technologies and its lead in the AV race is clear. Apple is a decade away from having its AV as Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster notes that Apple car is car is “closer to 10 years away than 5 years”. Tesla is working on autonomous capacities for its EVs but Elon Musk says its cars are not yet at the point where you can enter, fall asleep, and wake up at your destination.

Trusted & Regulated Stock & CFD Brokers

Rating

What we like

  • 0% Fees on Stocks
  • 5000+ Stocks, ETFs and other Markets
  • Accepts Paypal Deposits

Min Deposit

$200

Charge per Trade

Zero Commission on real stocks

Rating

64 traders signed up today

Visit Now

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Available Assets

  • Total Number of Stocks & Shares5000+
  • US Stocks
  • German Stocks
  • UK Stocks
  • European
  • ETF Stocks
  • IPO
  • Funds
  • Bonds
  • Options
  • Futures
  • CFDs
  • Crypto

Charge per Trade

  • FTSE 100 Zero Commission
  • NASDAQ Zero Commission
  • DAX Zero Commission
  • Facebook Zero Commission
  • Alphabet Zero Commission
  • Tesla Zero Commission
  • Apple Zero Commission
  • Microsoft Zero Commission

Deposit Method

  • Wire Transfer
  • Credit Cards
  • Bank Account
  • Paypall
  • Skrill
  • Neteller

Rating

What we like

  • Sign up today and get $5 free
  • Fractals Available
  • Paypal Available

Min Deposit

$0

Charge per Trade

$1 to $9 PCM

Rating

Visit Now

Investing in financial markets carries risk, you have the potential to lose your total investment.

Available Assets

  • Total Number of Shares999
  • US Stocks
  • German Stocks
  • UK Stocks
  • European Stocks
  • EFTs
  • IPOs
  • Funds
  • Bonds
  • Options
  • Futures
  • CFDs
  • Crypto

Charge per Trade

  • FTSE 100 $1 - $9 per month
  • NASDAQ $1 - $9 per month
  • DAX $1 - $9 per month
  • Facebook $1 - $9 per month
  • Alphabet $1 - $9 per month
  • Telsa $1 - $9 per month
  • Apple $1 - $9 per month
  • Microsoft $1 - $9 per month

Deposit Method

  • Wire Transfer
  • Credit Cards
  • Bank Account

Victor Alagbe

Victor Alagbe

Victor Alagbe is a seasoned business and finance writer with a specialty in writing about how to invest for the long-term in healthcare, pharmacology, energy and tech stocks. His long-term focus is on stocks that provide a nice mix of growth and income. For the short term, he passionately writes about trading stock options for the excitement and leverage that stock options offer.