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Self-driving cars can avoid many, but not all causes of auto accidents

Self Driving CarGoogle’s self-driving car technology has excited lots of people with its potential for making driving safer and more convenient. Test cars have already driven 700,000 miles without an accident. However, can this technology really end accidents for good? Probably not—at least not in its current form and with its $150,000 price tag.

What Google Cars Can Do

Google’s driverless technology has made truly amazing strides and can now safely handle thousands of driving situations using LIDAR and 360-degree computer vision. This type of computer vision is excellent for identifying topography and spotting large objects. It can not only “see” cars and trucks, but also detect things like railroad crossings, road signs, cyclists, and traffic cones. In some ways it sees better than a human driver, because these self-driving cars have no blind spots and can never forget to check for hazards such as a cyclist coming up behind them at a right hand turn.

This type of driverless technology has real potential to prevent accidents, particularly those that are caused by driver error, driver distraction, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

What Google Cars Cannot Do

As of right now, it seems that the Google driverless cars are specifically tuned to certain road layouts. While they do well in known areas, they might be unable to venture outside those areas without new maps being loaded.

A driverless car would not be immune to causes of car accidents that have nothing to do with driver error. For example, a mechanical failure in the car, a lack of proper signage or road maintenance, or adverse road conditions could cause accidents that the driverless car would likely be unprepared for. In such accidents, an outside entity such as the car manufacturer or the municipal road authority could be held liable for injuries.

What To Do After an Auto Accident

Whether or not driverless cars eventually become ubiquitous on American roadways, the things to do after an auto accident will remain the same:

  1. Get medical attention

  2. Call an auto accident attorney

  3. Call the police so a report can be filed

  4. Photograph the scene

  5. Collect contact information from all parties

  6. Let your attorney call your insurance company for you

Your attorney will handle all the legwork involved in proving liability for the accident as well as the extent of your injuries and damages, and then fight tenaciously for you to receive fair and just compensation.