The director of Google's self-drive car project has revealed
his motivation for ensuring that the technology is standard on roads within
five years.
Chris Urmson told delegates at the Ted (Technology,
Entertainment and Design) conference that his eldest son was 11-years-old and
due to take his driving test in "four and a half years".
"My team are committed to making sure that doesn't
happen," he said.
He also laid out Google's commitment to fully automated
cars.
Some automotive firms have opted to introduce driver-assist
functions in cars in the hope that the technology can gradually win over the
many sceptics who would be uncomfortable in a fully automated car.
By contrast Google's own car - a prototype electric pod
revealed in December - will have no steering wheel or conventional controls
although for early testing, extra controls will be fitted so one of Google's
test drivers can take over if there is a problem.
The fact that people are driving more and getting stuck in
traffic jams for longer were two other good reasons to roll the technology out
as soon as possible, he said.
But, most importantly, self-drive cars could drastically
reduce traffic accidents, he said.
"Some 1.2 million people are killed on the roads around
the world each year. That number is equivalent to a jet falling out of the sky
every day."
"That is not to say that driver-assistance cars won't
be useful but if we are really going to make changes to our cities, get rid of
parking lots, we need self-drive cars," he said.

Mr Urmson shared with the Ted audience some of the more
unusual traffic situations that the fleet of Google self-drive cars had
encountered, including a child driving a toy car in the road and a woman in an
electric wheelchair chasing a duck.
"There is nowhere in the handbook about how to deal
with that situation.
Sven Beiker, executive director of the Center for Automotive
Research at Stanford, has said that driverless cars may still require human
input in extreme circumstances and that people may forget how to operate their
vehicles if they do not do it regularly.
Inside Google's Self-driving Car | HIGH T3CH
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