Google's self-driving cars to hit public roads for the first time

by Istofon 5/15/2015, 6:40 PMwith 2 comments

by ColinWrighton 5/15/2015, 6:50 PM

Here are some of the other submissions of this story. Interestingly, none have any comments. I wonder where the discussion might be. Have I missed some?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9549430

    Google's unique self-driving cars will hit public streets this summer
    (engadget.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9549476

    Google's Self-Driving Cars Will Hit Public Roads in Mountain View This Summer
    (techcrunch.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9549578

    Google's self-driving cars roll onto public roads this summer
    (thestack.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9549707

    Google's self-driving cars are coming to public roads in California this summer
    (mashable.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9549934

    Google self-driving car project
    (designboom.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9550863

    Google's self-driving cars will hit the road this summer
    (fortune.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9551455

    Google Is Taking Its Self-Driving Cars to the Open Road
    (wsj.com)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9552402

    Robo-car, go Google's latest self-driving prototypes are heading to roadways
    (cnet.com)

by jpg0rd0non 5/15/2015, 7:21 PM

I used to object to the idea of driverless cars. Then, while driving around NYC, it occurred to me that driverless cars, however reckless, would be an improvement over the other cars on the road. In fact, not just in NYC, but wherever I've driven across the US driverless cars would be a step up.

The driverless cars being tested now drive more deliberately and consistently, if a bit slower. This means that accident rates should come down, and with them the collateral congestion that they cause, hence effectively increasing the average miles per hour of a commute.