The goal of Google's self-driving car project is to make driving safer, more enjoyable, and efficient. How safe is it? Well, Google recently let one man who lost 95 percent of his vision and doesn't even have a driver’s license behind the wheel.
Back in 2010 Google announced it’s self-driving car project with a goal of making driving safer, more enjoyable, and efficient. How safe is it? Well, Google recently let one man who lost 95 percent of his vision and doesn’t even have a driver’s license behind the wheel.
That man who took Google’s autonomous car out for a spin is Steve Mahan. In a powerful video of the self-driving car in action, you see Mahan with excitement stating, “Hey Mom, no hands” as the car is driving around.
“This is some of the best driving I have ever done,” Mahan says while sitting in the driver’s seat of the modified Toyota Prius laughing as the car uses radars and lasers to ensure the route is safe.
Google reports that it has completed more than 200,000 miles of computer-led driving – only two crashes were reported, both with a human at the wheel, leading one insurer to call the driverless cars “shockingly” safe and efficient.
At one point in the video, the self-driving car effortlessly navigates through a Taco Bell drive-through.
“Where this would change my life is to give me the independence and the flexibility to go the places I both want to go and need to go,” Mahan said.
Check out the video here:
Driverless cars have recently gained legislative support in Nevada and California, with Hawaii, Oklahoma, Florida, and Arizona also introducing bills, according to Bloomberg. As an April Fools’ prank this year, Google co-founder Sergey Brin jokingly announced that a driverless car would soon compete in NASCAR racing.