The Google self-driving cars caused quite a buzz when they were released onto California’s roads, and now that buzz is back – but this time for less impressive reasons.

It has been revealed that of the 48 self-driving cars on the road, 11 have been involved in some sort of collision, although Google execs have been quick to point out how those numbers are not at all bad. This from Associated Press:

The director of Google’s self-driving car project wrote in a web post that all 11 accidents were minor — “light damage, no injuries” — and happened over 1.7 million miles of testing, including nearly 1 million miles in self-driving mode.

“Not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident,” wrote Google’s Chris Urmson.

Now what kind of wizardry is at work to ensure these cars don’t lose their shizz and plough into fellow road users? Well it’s a combination of factors, with those in favour of the cars saying they are safer than human drivers:

Their cameras, radar and laser sensors provide a far more detailed understanding of their surroundings than humans have. Reaction times should be faster. Cars could be programmed to adjust if they sense a crash coming — move a few feet, tighten seat belts, honk the horn or flash lights at a distracted driver.

Now you can roll out all the stats you want, but 11 out of 48 cars seems like a disproportionate amount of rear-ending going on.

Hey, at least it’s not this kind of rear-ending.

[source:ap]