A driverless car from Google in tests. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Distracted driving. Tiredness. Bad weather. Poor skills. These are just some of the reasons that accidents occur with a human behind the wheel of a car. We've made cars safer over the years, including features such as airbags and automated parallel parking, to try to reduce accidents. But perhaps a machine could do better. Or could it?
Google and many other organizations are creating driverless cars, which are essentially vehicles that could navigate on their own without the need of a person. Instead of needing to get yourself to work every day, you could sit inside of the vehicle and leisurely read the news on your device -- or get a little extra work done -- while your personal vehicle pilots you to your destination.
Google has tested the concept already in certain locations in California, and on the two occasions the driverless car was involved in an accident, the organization says that humans were responsible for them and not the car itself. But can cars really be that safe?
