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Christopher Dawson

Google driverless cars will soon hit the road in Nevada

By | June 24, 2011, 12:24pm PDT

Nevada has just passed legislation removing many of the legal barriers to the use of Google’s self-driving car technology. So if you see a Toyota Prius or Audi TT without anyone at the wheel the next time you’re in the state, don’t worry - Google’s got their back.

Let’s back up. All that Assembly Bill No 511 says is that Nevada lawmakers have to draft legislation which provides rules for Google’s fleet of autonomous cars, according to the Daily Mail report. That means it could still be a little while before the general public will get to take a ride.

The bill carries two amendments: the first, which already passed, provides for the licensing and testing of driverless cars. The second, which is still in debate, would grant an exemption for texting behind the wheel of the car you’re not actually driving.

Google has been pushing for this legislation for some time: after a series of successful road tests that resulted in almost 140,000 miles driven with only limited human intervention, the search giant started lobbying Nevada to take a serious look at their technology and start the path to legalization.

The benefits of driverless cars include less traffic accidents and greater fuel efficiency, to hear Google tell it. And they never let a car go off without a human operator who can take over in the case of a mistake. But would you ride in a car without a driver?

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Matthew has written about consumer and personal technology for The New York Daily News and comic book culture for ComicMix.com.

Disclosure

Matt Weinberger

Matt Weinberger has no financial investments in the companies he covers.

Biography

Matt Weinberger

Matthew also covers software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing and recurring revenue models for the IT channel at TalkinCloud.com and MSPmentor.net. He has written about consumer and personal technology for The New York Daily News and comic book culture for ComicMix.com. Matthew is a graduate of the Stony Brook University School of Journalism.

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RE: Google driverless cars will soon hit the road in Nevada
3shao 20th Sep
@tatiGmail Thanks for all the hard work grin cosmograph daytona rolex oyster perpetual blue rolex watches
Officer, I am not lying, I swear to God I wasn't driving drunk... the car was driving, it tell you the truth...
@tatiGmail
Anyone who can notrol car by driving the whill should be accountable to driving under "alcohol influence".
@przemoli driverles cars, yes, driverless airplanes; I don't think so! its just a matter of gps sattellites, and /or sensors in the roadway. the law will have a rider attached to it allowing texting while driving a car that your not driving because it's driving it's self while your not driving. how about laptop, cellphone game playing while driving a car your not driving; or shopping @amazon or ebay or surfing xxx sites. check your spelling?, need glasses?. get them while driving & pickup @ lens 2000 or? your next stop. how about the drive-up window @Mcdonalds & Jack in the box. install a microwave oven & fix your own lunch while driving a car your not driving. i hope it recoginizes warning signs, barrier gates, and Nevada Amtrak trains. be sure to pay your Life & Auto insurance in advance. Enough!. Bye.
@tatiGmail Great! I love it. how about mixing your own strawberry daquri in the battery operated blender while he's writing the ticket. Bond, James Bond!; stirred?, not shaken?. where's "M or Q ", I forgot; both Dead. probly on a Nevada Amtrak Train.
@tatiGmail Thanks for all the hard work grin cosmograph daytona rolex oyster perpetual blue rolex watches
and it does something unexpected, how would the human be able to resond in time?

I see deaths going up, not down, but time will prove me right or wrong.
@Will Pharaoh
Computers can respond infinitely faster than humans, period.

The driverless cars already tested didn't require humans to do anything. They just sat there. They were only mandated to be there for emergency purposes.
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@Droid101
and someone is texting behind the wheel at that moment, they would not be able to retain control quickly enough.

plain
@Droid101
"I believe he may mean that if the systems fails and someone is texting behind the wheel at that moment, they would not be able to retain control quickly enough."

People are already texting and driving. At least with a self driving car you have a backup solution.
@Droid101

That's what he was referring to I believe. I think he was saying that if there is an emergency then the chances that the driver will be paying enough attention to take over if the car has a malfunction will be low. They'll be talking or drinking or texting or rocking out, they won't be waiting patiently and attentively in case the car malfunctions, hence if there is a malfunction there will likely be a crash. But overall, yes, if there are no malfunctions then there will be few to no crashes.
I don't see how it's any different than a human driver with a passenger who is texting while sticking their feet out the window and listening to music. There have been a lot of deaths lately due to drivers having heart attacks while driving.
@Droid101 Computers can not respond infinitely faster to a situation that they are not programmed for, though. There is a limit to the amount of situations that can be predicted and programmed and when that is reached there will be accidents. Plus it's everything science fiction has predicted, computers taking over functions we would have normally thought only a human could complete. As scary as that part is I do believe that these driver less cars will be successful and will prevent more accidents than they cause, because all manner of variables involving the operation of motor vehicles will create accidents... having a computer element will create new possibilities for accidents while eliminating more and many others.
@Will Pharaoh if in a wreck just get out and run; they'll never find you. hack the software and make it think it's a horse. teach the car-horse to talk like Mr. Ed. horses nearly always try to return home or find the nearest water hole .sometimes they just stand there & swat flies with their tail , scratch the ground & count to ten & whinney & nodding yes. you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink! a Martini?
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Sounds great, but ...
Rick_R 24th Jun
Sounds great, but who gets sued when there is an accident with significant injuries or property damage? What happens when the car loses control because of an ice patch or other such unpredictable situation? Who gets sued, Google? Our legal system generally requires "fault" for liability, which is basically defined as failing to meet the "standard of care" in a given situation. However, in some cases "strict liability" can apply, i.e., "It happened and someone got hurt, even though no one was at fault. Given the choice of leaving the victim to bear the loss or someone else (usually a product manufacturer or seller) who provided the item that caused the injury, we'll put the burden on that other person/company. They can slightly increase the price of their product to each purchaser and protect themselves that way with minimal burden to the general public."
@Rick_R
But I guess we'll have to see what the Nevada Legislature actually passed.
@John L. Ries
Oh, we will find whom to sue all right.
@Rick_R
Car owner??
@Rick_R

How is liability currently handled should a human driver have a heart attack or brain aneurysm while driving?

Maybe some of the same legislation can apply.
@gergyllaer take your blood thinner pills and/or your nitro tablets before leaving. wait an hour, leave, & take a nap untill you get there.
@Rick_R you just sue everybody. like the green berets say, (Blank ) them all & let God sort'em out.
This isn't about reducing fatalities, it is about increasing FUEL EFFICIENCY. Collision reduction is just a byproduct.
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thank's God is not a M$ car
Linux Geek 24th Jun
you can picture wrecks and tragedies due to windoze bugs and crashes.
@Linux Geek
Agree, because Google crashes look much nicer.
@paul2011
Google loves Linux. So Linux kernel panics, or bugy AMD drivers .... wink
@Linux Geek Funny my Windows 7 laptop hasn't crashed once in over a year...just sayin. Somehow I doubt this runs on Windows though. Despite that the thought of a computer driving my car freaks me out
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RE: thank's God is not a M$ car
fatman65535 27th Jun
@Linux Geek

Please don't make me laugh! I am mentally picturing the following:

1) You turn the key, and it takes Windows for Vehicles (WfV) 3 minutes to boot up.

2) WfV uses a wireless signal to contact the Microsoft database to insure that the copy of WfV is ""legal"".

3) WfV takes 20 minutes to download today's patches. Unlike, desktop and server versions of Windows, which have a monthly patch cycle, WfV requires daily patching, to prevent 'script kiddies' and 'haxxorz' from pwning your car.

4) After all of these patches have been applied, you have to re-boot.

5) Finally, your WfV system is ready to use. You enter your destination into the GPS assisted navigation, and begin your journey. Because the software that comprises WfV is so bloated, and riddled with crapware, your maximum speed is limited to 25 MPH.

6) As you transit to your destination, Microsoft partners use your vehicle's in screen entertainment system to deliver location aware advertising. Disabling this "feature" is a TOS violation, and will result in your copy of WfV being labeled as ""pirated"".

7) Microsoft and the VSA (Vehicle Software Alliance) conduct roadblocks to ferret out vehicles using unauthorized (both "pirated" and FOSS) software. An infringing vehicle is immediately impounded and subject to forfeiture.

8) In a display of consumer resistance to the increased intrusion of Microsoft and the VSA into the daily lives of consumers, a revolt starts taking hold. Reminiscent of the "environmental lobby's" assaults on gas guzzling SUV's (e.g. setting Hummers ablaze); vehicle owners rip out the computerized spyware platforms and lob them through the windows of the companies that installed then in the first place.

9) {Here I save the best for last.} Microsoft goes bankrupt when hit with a $1Trillion class action lawsuit, and loses big time. {For this, one can only wish!}
@Linux Geek what the hell does MS have to do with this? I don't see them mentioned anywhere within this article, grow up u fu?kin Linux nerd lunatic.
@Eric12341

Obviously, you can not detect sarcasm !!!

To paraphrase the Borg (an) explanation is futile!

Anyway, thanks for playing (lure a troll)!
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OMG!!!!
W.E. 24th Jun
THE CAR BLUE SCREENED! AAAAAAHAHHHHHHHH
@W.E.
Again Google love Linux, not Windows.
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and the trees in Nevada, and the pedestrians in Nevada, and the other vehicles in Nevada, and ...
plain
@Mister Spock
And they said Spock didn't have a sense of humor! Good one!!
Anyone ever think of this: someone hacks your car to murder you by causing it to crash.....and they get away with it. Hackers get away with theft all the time, think how much more horrible it'll be when they're getting away with murder too?!
@josh92
You can damage someone car right now, to cause "unfortunate emergency".

So whats the difference?
Ask military pilots about "pilotless" airframes. Reaction time is almost all of it. But then again, I don't believe a computer could make my sailboat sweetly kiss the dock the way I do.
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Yay!
Mwendo 25th Jun
I can't wait to be able to drink and drive again!
@Mwendo You mean with less worries of getting pulled over?
Driving, schmiving. Call me when Google has something that can win at craps.
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This is great for the visually impaired as an alternative to public transportation. I do have too many travel discomforts due to my visual impairment and I did not feel comfortable about taking a bus due to overhauled and confusing bus routes that led me to be upset about not catching the bus to go see the movie during my birthday (my mom took me to see the movie on 11/23/10 and that I get a free drink with a coupon at AMC Theaters). I did not like cars during that time, although I'm trying to make myself feel comfortable and get over my hatred against cars due to having emotional problems but I was afraid of seeking professional help, which increases fear in me.

With a single speed bicycle, I have trouble overcoming hills that are steep in Tallahassee and that there are no grass between the road and sidewalk in a couple of streets (even major streets) to keep me safe as I'm trying to ride in a straight line after I stabilize my balance; nevertheless, that's not going to be easier and safer in the road as I'm still new to riding a two-wheel bike until I got my tricycle which won't be used until I move over to a first-floor apartment (well, another apartment complex near N. Monroe Street in Tallahassee).

If I can't wait to get a driverless car and when I have too many travel discomforts, well, once I move to a first floor apartment, I can pretty much use a tricycle to get anywhere I want to go in the road, provided that I can overcome my weak timing for not getting in the road in time once the road is clear by following CB HI's advice. (This thread is about whether a visually impaired should be riding in the road or the sidewalk, provided that they have enough vision, but then there are legal, safety, and obstacle issues about riding a bicycle or tricycle in the sidewalk.

Of course, there will always be motorists who will tell cyclist to get off the road and into the sidewalk (and even children, too); that is, if I can ignore them as much as possible as I can in order to be safe in the road. But sometimes, that will cause me more travel discomforts down the road, even for cyclists (perhaps not all of them).

Overall, I must say that the state of transportation in the US, even public and private, are pretty awful for non-motorists (in other words, that awful state of transportation in the US is nothing to them, as there are motorists who think they own the road).
@Grayson Peddie
Sorry for your problems but I suggest you learn to express yourself more succinctly. By the time I finished any of your many long sentences I forgot what you first said. I did not follow your line of thought as you rambled all over the place complaining about everything. Sure, it's tough for many of us.

So, while it is unfortunate having that problem you would get more sympathy just saying that being visually impared you would love to have such a car. See what I mean, succinct.
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@bsit@... Oh well, I guess I'm trying to split one large paragraph into 2 smaller paragraphs. I will try and see what I can do.

Update: I think I got it.
My car already has cruise control and it drives straight when I take my hands off the wheel. I'm not seeing the advantage to this.
@googleisevil69 So how are you going to have your car automatically turn left or right where you want it to go? Cruise is cruise, but you still have to pay attention to the road that is ahead of you; consequently, you will crash into another car while car crashes to another car while you are in cruise control and so on and so forth. Cruise control is not going to solve your drinking problem.
@Grayson Peddie The kids I drive on the bus don't complain!
@Grayson Peddie Look at his name. He's just a troll, ignore him.
Thankfully, computer programs never have bugs, and no one is ever able to illegally gain access and take over control of software or hardware.
I am appalled by some of the comments on what is suppose to be a technology blog. Hats off to Google for pioneering this technology. All technology in its infancy had its detractors yet with time the technology matured and benefited society. Take for instance auto pilots on aircraft, elevators for those old enough to remember elevator operators. Automation is not bad and with the speed of today's computer is a realistic option for automobiles. Thank You Google.
@TonyGTech

Yep thanks Tony, its great to have new technology but would you be happy to be the guinea pig for early versions of the software. Problems lead to deaths and pain in this case, not just annoyance. Have you forgoten the internet? It has become a paradise for crime and frustration. Not all technology is good, nukes, biological warfare, chemical warefare (Sudam, WWI, WWII etc), the better they get the worse they are. Think about it. You want to be in the car when an early version goes bad? Not me.
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it's the twenty-first century
andrew.beals@... 27th Jun
It's about bloody time we had cars that drove themselves.
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Will Ford use it?
davidr69 27th Jun
Imagine a Google car with MS Sync!

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