2015-10-22
October 23, 2015
Should Autopilot Cars Be Required To Pass Driving Tests?
J. Gorzelany Oct 22, “Every state in the union requires motorists to pass a battery of tests in order to be licensed, so why not self-driving vehicles? That’s a notion recently discussed in a white paper written by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute…” Read more Hmmmm… See the UofM white paper: Should We Require Licensing …. Of course! The question is now, what should that test be? Should it simply be the same test as administered today, but with the car doing it as opposed to the human (that means the automated car is empty except the examiner riding shotgun barking out instructions) or is it a progressive exam coupled with a well defined set of conditions under which the automated functionalities are “engage-able” (For example: NJ Turnpike Southbound between mileposts X and Y, in lanes 2 and 3 of the “truck barrel” between sunrise and sunset, without heavy rain, sleet, snow or fog; etc.) or ??? as in the report. Alain
White House sees roadmap for self-driving cars
D McCabe, Oct 21 “The White House is updating a document intended to lay out a roadmap for innovation in America. “In this final refresh of the President’s Strategy, the Administration has identified additional policies to sustain the innovation ecosystem that will deliver benefits to all Americans,” the report says. The document was first released in 2009 and last updated in 2011. Among the priorities identified by the administration are self-driving cars” Yea!!! “and vehicle-to-vehicle communications” Whoops, they didn’t get the memo. Read more Hmmm… Read the report: A Strategy for American Innovation, Oct 2015, p80 -> p86, p92. Alain
Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015
Oct 2015 “…Ultimately, this bill is about making sure that we can spend less time stuck in traffic and adding unnecessary wear and tear on our vehicles. It’s about making sure that the cost of goods and services we depend on every day are not needlessly inflated by poor infrastructure and freight bottlenecks. It’s about allowing American businesses to be more competitive. And this bill is about creating jobs – not just project construction jobs, but jobs across the economy in small businesses, manufacturing, agriculture, and more….” Read more
Hmmm… Nothing about safety??????? Really?????? Finally on page 7 (leads with connected vehicles and has no mention of automated collision avoidance.) I don’t get it? Isn’t Safety the most fundamental reason for public-sector involvement in mobility?? Alain
To authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes
House of Representatives, Oct 20 A BILL To authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes…. Read more
Hmmm…It is really unfortunate that the Lipinski language that Rep. Lipinski had in his H.R. 2886, the Future Transportation Research and Innovation for Prosperity (TRIP) Act, is not in this bill.
HR 3763, as it sits, inappropriately continues the “connected vehicle” initiatives which will require an enormous investment by the public sector to be effective as opposed to focusing on automated collision avoidance and other automated vehicle initiatives that require only public oversight and will be funded almost entirely by the private sector (mostly through the diversion of existing insurance expenditures from fixing things after collisions to paying for the technologies that avoided the accidents).
Somehow neither the White House nor HR 3763 see that diversion/reallocation which does NOT require any congressional/public-sector funding yet delivers enormous public safety benefits that evolve in the long run to enable ride-sharing which is be the only effective way to curtail mobility’s impact on Energy, Green House Gases (GHG), Pollution and Climate Change. Alain
Obviously Drivers Are Already Abusing Tesla’s Autopilot
A. Davies “…X, Y & Z made the coast-to-coast drive in 57 hours and 48 minutes, a time that is still to be verified by an independent third party. The three are veterans of record-setting transcontinental runs: In April, X and Y set a record for the least time spent charging an EV while driving across the country. And Z, a rally driver, set an unofficial “Cannonball Run” record in 2006, driving from New York to LA in just 31 hours and 4 minutes.
Arriving in New York in record time, without being arrested or killed, is a personal victory for the drivers. More than that, though, it highlights how quickly and enthusiastically autonomous technology is likely to be adopted, and how tricky it may be to keep in check once drivers get their first taste of freedom behind the wheel….”Read more
Hmmmm… OK, now that we have all of the publicity hounds satisfied, can everyone now behave responsibly?! This is serious business. Since Tesla is collecting the data from all of these cars in real time, it should turn off the system to each of its customers that that uses it irresponsibly because, in the end, Tesla is going to held liable when anything bad happens and the liability may be so great that it may collapse Tesla’s value just as VW’s corporate irresponsibility tumbled its value. Tesla stock holders should be fuming (or selling) now! Alain
Truck companies press for automatic brakes
K. Laing, Oct 20, “The American Trucking Association (ATA) is pushing for federal regulators to require the installation of automatic emergency braking systems on U.S. cars and trucks…. Read more
Hmmm… I must be missing something here. If truck companies want automatic brakes, why don’t they just go out there and buy them. Why do they need the public sector to force them to do something that they want to do anyway. Are they looking for a quid pro quo (like longer hours of service)??? Something is missing here. Alain
Some other thoughts that deserve your
Consumer Reports Stops Recommending the Tesla
J. Mouawad, Oct 20, “Consumer Reports dropped its recommendation of the Tesla Model S after owners of the electric luxury sedan complained of a series of problems including squeaking noises, motors that needed to be changed and issues with the car’s automatic door handles…The surprise change in rating on Tuesday sent Tesla shares down as much as 10 percent in midday trading. The stock closed down $15.07, or 6.6 percent, at $213.03 a share….” Read more Hmmm…. And this is before all of the silliness and liability exposure that autopilot brings to the stock price. Alain
Letter to Michael Melaniphy, P & CEO, APTA
L. Hanley, International President ATU, Aug 31 “I am writing with a sense of urgency, imploring you to immediately take action to save the lives of innocent pedestrians and bicyclists who are being struck and killed by transit buses across the United States… Read more
Hmmm…As Lou Sanders, Jerome Lutin and I have been imploring the FTA for some time now: it is imperative that FTA address this safety problem on all fronts including the deployment of automated collision avoidance systems on all transit buses. Alain
Recompiled Old News :
Half-baked stuff that probably doesn’t deserve your time:
C’mon Man! (These folks didn’t get/read the memo)
DragTimes Gets Pulled Over As Autopiloted Tesla Model S Goes 15 MPH Over The Limit – Video
E. Loveday, Oct 18 “DragTimes presents an exceptional video of Autopilot testing in a Tesla Model S….” Read more Hmmm…. See video. C’Mon Man this is a childish publicity stunt. AutoPilot did NOT select the speed. Is your next trick to do a Thelma & Louise? C’mon Man! Seems as if all of this goofiness didn’t occur when Mercedes, Volvo, Subaru, etc. released similar features to their consumers. Are Tesla folks fundamentally more irresponsible or is this all about Tesla’s Donald-like hype-machine??? Calling it “AutoPilot” when it’s NOT was NOT a good call! Alain
Calendar of Upcoming Events:
November 4-6, 2015
Florida Automated Vehicles Summit
Technix 2016 Envision Automated Transit (EAT) Saturday, January 9th, 2016
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Kim Engineering Building, University of Maryland
8228 Paint Branch Dr., College Park, MD 20742
Open to the public
Technix 2016 Envision Automated Transit (EAT)
Recent Versions of:
Self-Driving Cars Are Coming Right For Us
Stephen C. Oct 16 “… It seems like every billionaire with a tech company is working on a self-driving car, so they’re coming whether you like it or not…” See Video Hmmmm…. Well worth watching. As well as Video1, Video2, Video 3, Video4, Video@night:-) Alain
Tesla’s autopilot lets cars drive, change lanes themselves
D. Durbin Oct 14 “Electric car maker Tesla Motors is leapfrogging competitors with a new autopilot system that lets cars change lanes by themselves. Like other semi-autonomous systems already available from Mercedes, Audi and Volvo, Tesla’s system automatically keeps the car within its lane and maintains a certain distance from the car in front, both at highway speeds and on city streets. It can find a parking spot and parallel park itself. It also uses cameras and sensors to warn drivers about potential side impacts….Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the system is also unique because it will constantly collect data from actual drivers and improve itself. The system will note, for example, how quickly drivers can safely navigate a particular bend in the road or where stop signs are located…. The autopilot update will be added to around 60,000 vehicles worldwide, including Model S sedans made after September 2014 and Model X SUVs. Owners will get the system through a software update starting Wednesday evening in North America…” Read more Hmmmm…. The lane changing is an impressive substantive enhancement! Congratulations Tesla. Alain
US urged to establish nationwide Federal guidelines for autonomous driving
Oct 7 “The US risks losing its leading global position in the development of self-driving cars if it allows a patchwork of varying state laws and regulations to develop, according to Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. In a speech to be delivered Thursday at a high level seminar on self-driving cars organized by Volvo Cars and the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC, Mr Samuelsson will say… He will urge regulators to work closely with car makers to solve controversial outstanding issues such as questions over legal liability in the event that a self-driving car is involved in a crash or hacked by a criminal third party. Mr Samuelsson will clearly state Volvo’s position on both of these contentious issues. He will say Volvo will accept full liability whenever one if its cars is in autonomous mode, making it one of the first car makers in the world to make such a promise. He will add that Volvo regards the hacking of a car as a criminal offense. ….”Read more Hmmmm… Fantastic!!! This will really “shake ‘em up”. I’ll be on a panel at this meeting later this morning. Can’t wait!!! This is FANTASTIC!!! Alain See also
“60 Minutes” test-rides Mercedes-Benz self-driving car
Oct 2 “As Google’s driverless cars have logged more then a million miles in the past six years, the rest of the auto industry is racing to keep up. Computer scientist Ralf Herrtwich hits the road with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker to demonstrate Mercedes-Benz’s most advanced self-driving prototype. Watch the full story Sunday on “60 Minutes.” Watch video and watch 60 minutes on Sunday Oct 4. This is really becoming mainstream. Congratulations Ralf! Alain
As Volkswagen Pushed to Be No. 1, Ambitions Fueled a Scandal
D. Hakim, Sept 26 “…It is not Volkswagen’s first run-in with regulators over emissions. When the United States began regulating tailpipe pollutants in the 1970s, Volkswagen was one of the first companies caught cheating. It was fined $120,000 in 1973 for installing what became known as a “defeat device,” technology to shut down a vehicle’s pollution control systems. This time, it equipped its vehicles with software that was programmed to fake test results, an action the E.P.A. rebuked in 1998, when it reached a $1 billion settlement with truck-engine manufacturers for doing the same thing…..
Cheating on emissions tests solved several issues at once. Not only were drivers rewarded with better mileage and performance, but the automaker also avoided more expensive and cumbersome pollution-control systems. While Volkswagen cheated behind the scenes, it publicly espoused virtue. This, after all, is the company that used one of the largest advertising arenas in the world, the Super Bowl, to run a commercial showing its engineers sprouting angel’s wings.
…Confronted again, Volkswagen continued to maintain that there was a problem with the testers, not the vehicles…Government officials then increased the pressure on the company, threatening to withhold approval for its 2016 Volkswagen and Audi diesel models. According to the E.P.A., that is what forced Volkswagen’s hand. On Sept. 3, a group of senior engineers admitted what the regulators had suspected: …. Read more Hmmm…So UGLY!!! Alain
Automakers Will Make Automatic Braking Systems Standard in New Cars
B. Vlasic, Sept 11 “Federal regulators said on Friday that 10 automakers had agreed to install automatic braking systems, which use sensors to detect potential collisions, as standard equipment in new vehicles. But the automakers have not set a timetable for the introduction of the systems, …Anthony Foxx, the transportation secretary, said in a prepared statement that emergency braking technology could reduce traffic deaths and injuries. “We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focusing on preventing crashes from ever occurring, rather than just protecting occupants when crashes happen,” Mr. Foxx said…. The 10 companies “will work with I.I.H.S. and N.H.T.S.A. in the coming months on the details of implementing their historic commitment,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement (Same as the DoT Statement.) Read more Hmmm… This is major because the automakers “had agreed…” rather than “the regulators had required…” (although there seems to be a little push-back in that “…had not set a timetable…” We do know that many are now offering these systems at a modest up-sell. So there may actually be substance in the announcement.) What is clear now is that we should all Invest in insurance companies that are creative in insuring these new vehicles!!! They are going to become so profitable! Insurance gets the cash benefit of the technology without having to pay for it!!! Wow!!! Congratulations Warren Buffett. He must have played a role in this. He stands to benefit so much. :-) While trucks are mentioned, (amazing that buses aren’t; DoT is SO BAD!!), they seem very much the stepchild. SO unfortunate! :-( Alain
Google’s Driverless Cars Run Into Problem: Cars With Drivers
M. Richtel & C Dougherty, Sept. 1 “ Google, … has run into an odd safety conundrum: humans. Last month, as one of Google’s self-driving cars approached a crosswalk, it did what it was supposed to do when it slowed to allow a pedestrian to cross, prompting its “safety driver” to apply the brakes. The pedestrian was fine, but not so much Google’s car, which was hit from behind by a human-driven sedan. Google’s fleet of autonomous test cars is programmed to follow the letter of the law… Researchers in the fledgling field of autonomous vehicles say that one of the biggest challenges facing automated cars is blending them into a world in which humans don’t behave by the book. “The real problem is that the car is too safe,” said Donald Norman, director of the Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego, who studies autonomous vehicles. “They have to learn to be aggressive in the right amount, and the right amount depends on the culture.”… Read more Hmmm… Much of this is good; however, many of the comments about warning systems being turned off and gaps being too large are a result of poor designs and not the real issue here which is that traffic laws have been written to control human drivers and placed in language that will cause human drivers to achieve the desired behavior most of the time or at the critical times. The law addresses the process to achieve the desired outcome, and not the outcome itself. For example, one might argue that the fundamental objective of a stop sign at an intersection is to ensure that one proceeds through the intersection only at a time when there is no chance of a collision with traffic in the cars traveling in the thru lanes. Because of human information processing limitations coming to a complete stop is the parsimonious way for a human to achieve the desired outcome. (The sight-lines on the approach to the intersection are such that a human driver needs to come to a complete rest so as to be able to “look both ways” and determine that it is safe to proceed.) If, however, the automated technology enables the automated vehicle to determine that it is safe to proceed prior to coming to a complete stop, why should that vehicle be required to come to a complete stop?
Speed limits are also an issue. For many, they have little to do with the maximum “safe” speed and their enforcement is totally whimsical. With automated vehicles we have the opportunity to deliver a safe speed limit which can vary along curves, ramps, time-of-day, school in/out, weather, traffic volume, prevailing conditions, etc. It would be a shame for the automated driving algorithms to be cloistered by the letters of the existing laws. Each of these traffic laws need to be examined and be re-cast with a view as being implemented explicitly by the automated technology. This may well be the most challenging hurdle facing SmartDrivingCars. Alain
Truck Safety Out of the Box from Autonobox
B Simpson, July 19, 2015 “The premise is promising. Develop and market a plug-and-play, forward-avoidance braking system for the heavy vehicle market that can be installed quickly, upgraded regularly, and even transferred from vehicle to vehicle if necessary. The Autonobox System essentially is a second braking system for heavy-duty vehicles that addresses the long-standing problem of brakes that overheat after intense use like a panic-stop or sustained use while going downhill…. Read more Hmmm…A viable after-market retro-fit opportunity. Alain
Self-Driving Cars Could Destroy Fine-Based City Government. What’s the Downside?
S. Shackford, July 15 “One of the propelling concepts behind self-driving cars isn’t just innovation for the sake of innovation, leading us to our sci-fi Jetsons future. If successfully implemented, it will make ground travel safer, …Local governments have become increasingly dependent on human screw-ups as a way to raise money. Speeding tickets. DUI citations. Parking violations. Those are all big money-makers for municipalities that could very well go away under a regime of self-driving cars….On top of that, if the theory that self-driving cars will lead people to own fewer cars holds up, revenue from registration fees will drop as well…. Read more Hmmm… No downside here! These have to be one of the most regressive tax systems, just behind lotteries and gambling. Governments deserve it, but will save because they will need way fewer police who now waste way too much of their time enforcing traffic laws. Police have much better things to do. Wins all around; No Downside! Alain
Lipinski Continues Efforts to Keep Cars and Other Transportation Safe from Cyber Attacks in Wake of Fiat Chrysler Recall
July 28 “…These vulnerabilities pose great risks and the federal government must do more to help protect Americans from these risks.” Late last year, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, originally introduced by Congressmen Lipinski, was signed into law. The Act increases the security of federal networks and information systems, improves the transfer of cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace, trains a cybersecurity workforce, and coordinates and prioritizes federal cybersecurity research and development efforts. Read more Hmmm… Besides protecting we must also prosecute. There has to be bad consequences and not notoriety to those that do the nasty deed. Alain
Center for Automated Road Transportation Safety @ Fort Monmouth is Launched
Monday, July 20, 2015 – “After more than three (3) years of planning and several major meetings the substantive launch the Center for Automated Road Transportation Safety @ Fort Monmouth (CARTS@FM) occurred this week with the establishment of the not-for-profit. (501(c) (6)), New Jersey Corporation. The mission of this Center is to substantially improve safety on our existing conventional roadway infrastructure through the use of inexpensive automated collision avoidance systems installed on individual vehicles operating harmoniously with conventional vehicles throughout most, if not all, existing roadways. The scope of CARTS’s mission is across all modes that utilize the nation’s conventional road system: trucks, buses and cars. ..” Read more
Automatic Cars Or Distracted Drivers: We Need Automation Sooner, Not Later
D. Norman 6/4/15 “Imperfect automation, continually getting better? Or distracted drivers, continually getting worse? Choose. I am fearful of the rapid rush toward full automation and have published numerous articles about the difficulties we will face because of the mismatch of the automation and human behavior. However, I am even more fearful of the rapid rise of distracting devices installed in automobiles, mounted on dashboards, worn on the wrist or body, or carried on seats, pockets, and laps of drivers…Each day seems to bring a new distraction. Heads-up displays (HUDs) that once were aids to minimizing distraction by making it easier for the driver to see navigation aids and speed, are now catching featuritis, that deadly disease which corrupts products….” Read more
Hmmm…. Yup!! Plus more comments from Don… “You might also want to add your traditional sarcasm saying “He saw the light!” or something because up to now, I have been arguing for caution (including my keynote at last years automated Vehicles conference (where I met you) – it’s about to be published in the proceedings. And I have a tech review article about to come out arguing the same caution (except I was just able to add a paragraph saying that all my words of caution are correct, but we still should switch to automation quickly). The most dangerous part of automated vehicles is when they are partially automated: the better the automation, the less able a person is able to take corrective action. This is a point I have argued for since my early work on aviation safety some 20 years ago but has been part of the human factors literature since long before that (Bainbridge Hmmm…it would not be bad to re-read the 1983 paper.). So we have to skip this stage if at all possible. I have long argued that we should have either all or none. it is the mixture that is dangerous. Basically, we have not solved the human element yet. By this I mean the pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboards, manually driven cars that will always be an issue. Moreover they will game the system: deliberately ignoring the cars under the assumption that they are programmed not to hit them, so they can do anything they want. This assumption will both stall traffic, create roadblocks, and also occasionally prove to be false (automated cars cannot overcome the laws of physics). Another complexity is aggression. Drivers have to be aggressive to get through traffic, but the amount and form of aggression is cultural. Pedestrians behave differently on college campuses (they think they own the place) versus the same people just a few miles away in cities, where they are more lawful. Korean drivers have to be aggressive to merge. And in China or Vietnam or India? Wow. Milan drivers are the most lawful I have experienced recently, but even they lose their patience.” Alain
Rep. Lipinski Introduces Future Transportation Research and Innovation Act
I. Sancken 03/29/15, “Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) has introduced H.R. 2886, the Future Transportation Research and Innovation for Prosperity (TRIP) Act, to support innovative technologies that have the potential to fundamentally alter mobility in America and beyond. “Surface transportation used to be rather staid and unimaginative, but today the very concept of ‘mobility’ is being reinvented through research, innovation, and entrepreneurship,” said Rep. Lipinski. “Rapidly advancing automation, connectivity, and information technologies are creating incredible opportunities for transportation innovation. We need to develop innovative ways to improve safety, ease congestion, improve personal mobility, and cut energy use…” Read more Hmmm… Excellent! Alain
MOSI debuts nation’s first driverless vehicle open to public
D. Dangerfield, 6/12/15 “ Imagine a vehicle that can drive on its own. On Saturday, the public will be invited to take a ride in one. The new driverless Meridian Shuttle is part of an exhibit that opens at MOSI on Saturday. The vehicle allows up to eight people to ride around the first floor of the museum. Read more Hmmm… It is all about starting. Congratulations! Alain
NTSB Calls for Immediate Action on Collision Avoidance Systems for Vehicles; Cites Slow Progress as Major Safety Issue
6/8/15 “ WASHINGTON – In a report released today, the National Transportation Safety Board outlined the life-saving benefits of currently available collision avoidance systems, and recommended that the technology become standard on all new passenger and commercial vehicles. “You don’t pay extra for your seatbelt,” said Chairman Christopher A. Hart. “And you shouldn’t have to pay extra for technology that can help prevent a collision altogether.”… Read more Hmmm Yea!!! Finally some semblance of sanity in Washington. Alain
John F. Nash Jr., Math Genius Defined by a ‘Beautiful Mind,’ Dies at 86
E. Goodmay, May 24 “…Dr. Nash and his wife, Alicia, 82, were in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike in Monroe Township around 4:30 p.m. when the driver lost control while veering from the left lane to the right and hit a guardrail and another car, Sgt. Gregory Williams of the New Jersey State Police said. The couple were ejected from the cab and pronounced dead at the scene. The State Police said it appeared that they had not been wearing seatbelts…. Read more
See also: John, Alicia Nash Remembered After Fatal Crash
A Beautiful Mind Mathematician John Nash and His Wife Killed in N.J. Car Crash;
Hmmm… So tragic!!! What a crying shame!!! So preventable!!! We will miss them :-( Unfortunately, the NYT and others tried but missed the fundamental point by following up with “Deaths of Math Genius John F. Nash Jr. and Wife Show Need to Use Seatbelts in Back, Experts Say “. Why do we so easily put up with crashes in the first place? It is as if it is OK to go around crashing, just put on a seat belt. Technology is available to avoid crashes, but there isn’t sufficient public policy focus on avoiding crashes to accelerate its adoption and enhancement. The fundamental problem was that the taxi was not equipped with available automated stability control, lane keeping and collision avoidance systems. This was not an accident, it was a failed public safety policy that refuses to move beyond crash mitigation and its challenged “V2x” initiatives to embrace forthright automated crash avoidance. Moreover, there is a failed Taxi regulatory structure that doesn’t even hint that taxis should have electronic stability control, automated lane keeping and collision avoidance. What is the purpose of taxi regulation, to keep “Ubers” out of business? It is time for the nation’s transportation policy to focus intelligence/automation on the vehicle in support of the driver. Hopefully Congress will restructure the pending transportation legislation to focus automated vehicle technologies that actively assist drivers when they make driving mistakes. We are not perfect. We deserve a public safety policy that is more mindful of our imperfections. Policy that isn’t aimed at just warning and scolding us but actively takes over and does the right thing. We, not the infrastructure, are the cause of most of the highway carnage. It is the driver who needs help and our public policy should focus on delivering that help. Alain
The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car
Chris Urmson May 11, 2015 “After 1.7 million miles we’ve learned a lot — not just about our system but how humans drive, too. The most common accidents our cars are likely to experience in typical day to day street driving — light damage, no injuries — aren’t well understood because they’re not reported to police. Yet according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, these incidents account for 55% of all crashes. It’s hard to know what’s really going on out on the streets unless you’re doing miles and miles of driving every day. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing with our fleet of 20+ self-driving vehicles and team of safety drivers, who’ve driven 1.7 million miles (manually and autonomously combined). The cars have self-driven nearly a million of those miles, and we’re now averaging around 10,000 self-driven miles a week (a bit less than a typical American driver logs in a year), mostly on city streets. In the spirit of helping all of us be safer drivers, we wanted to share a few patterns we’ve seen. A lot of this won’t be a surprise, especially if you already know that driver error causes 94% of crashes. If you spend enough time on the road, accidents will happen whether you’re in a car or a self-driving car. Over the 6 years since we started the project, we’ve been involved in 11 minor accidents (light damage, no injuries) during those 1.7 million miles of autonomous and manual driving with our safety drivers behind the wheel, and not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident. … We’ll continue to drive thousands of miles so we can all better understand the all too common incidents that cause many of us to dislike day to day driving — and we’ll continue to work hard on developing a self-driving car that can shoulder this burden for us.” Read more
Hmmm…. MUST reading; HOWEVER, we need much more information to be released, not just a few examples. Please make your data public! We don’t need to know who but we desperately need to know what so that not only Google, but the rest of us can… “…work hard on developing…” SmartDrivingCars “….that can shoulder this burden for us.” Alain