Are you ready to give up driving?

Photo Credit: BizNews.com

This week, Google’s Self-Driving Car has been in the news for the 11 accidents they have been involved in since implementing technology six years ago.  The company points out that these none of these minor accidents were caused by self-driving cars, rather human error is to blame for these non-injury accidents.

While driverless cars are still a long way into the future, the idea for the driverless car has been around since the 1950’s. The first autonomous cars produced were in the 1980’s. Progress has been slow and because safety is the top priority, every map, movement, and turn has to be precise.

Driverless cars seem scary and a potential hazard, but human drivers are dangerous too.  There have been 98 traffic fatalities in Kansas alone this year. 

Computers do not second guess, get distracted, or make any kind of instinctual decision. Computers make decisions based on calculations, data, and the information it has been given by engineers. And Google’s self-driving cars have now had over 1.7 million miles of testing with only 11 minor accidents and the company is pleased with its safety results.

But like any computer—there’s always a chance for a glitch to occur and cause some potentially dangerous issues.

Are self-driving cars the way to go?  Tell us what you think in the comment box below.