Google shares more details on its self-driving cars, says insurance companies

After a friend recommended that he join a secret Google project six years ago, Brian Torcellini suddenly found himself on the road to an occupational oxymoron.

With the latest Google fleet expansion, there are now 102 autonomous vehicles licensed to take to the streets in California. For instance, a Google self-driving vehicle once encountered a person in a wheelchair chasing a turkey. Google and other automotive manufacturers and suppliers have said the technology to build self-driving cars should be ready by 2020.

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) designed its self-driving cars in a manner such that they follow all the road and traffic rules. The problem that companies like Google are finding out, at least initially, is that autonomous vehicles are a bit too cautious. According to the WSJ, an autonomous vehicle from the company tapped the brakes at seemingly odd times during a recent test drive. Tesla had the next-largest fleet at 12 cars. Since then, its cars have been involved in 16 accidents. In those tests, and in every other one, the cars send their data from the interaction to a “scenario database”.

A few drivers around Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., say they find the cars annoying.

To date, Google has reported a handful of accidents and incidents involving the cars, but none have been attributed to the software.

As he understands it, Simpson said state law requires the DMV to respond to the rulemaking request within 30 days of submission.

Waydo also shared a story about how recently one of her friends who lives in Mountain View, where Google has been testing its cars on public roads, thanked her profusely after watching the auto seemlessly stop as a child ran out in front of it.

He declined to comment on whether the type of information Consumer Watchdog wants the companies to disclose – videos, vehicle speeds, rate of deceleration and more – would help the department in that goal.