Google’s Self-Driving Car Drives Better Than You

Google’s self-driving cars have logged thousands of miles around Mountain View, California and, with the help of Google’s engineers, the cars’ ability to navigate a variety of road conditions is continually improving. This fascinating video shows how the self-driving cars are able to safely negotiate a crowded pedestrian walkway, cyclists, railroad tracks, and construction zones.

As you can see in the video, the Google cars are aware of traffic all around them on the roadways, including cars, trucks, parked vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The cars are also aware of traffic signals, pedestrian crossings, stop signs, railroad crossings, a cyclist’s hand signals, and orange construction cones. All of those items are mapped in the vehicle’s virtual display and constantly analyzed.

It’s astounding just how aware the autonomous vehicles can be of the myriad of road and traffic conditions. How many drivers on our roads consider cyclists that may be approaching from behind when they’re in the process of making a right turn? It will be fascinating to see how this technology continues to evolve and how it becomes incorporated into production vehicles in the future in the form of improved safety warning and response systems.