I see no less than 5 self-driving cars every day. 99% of the time they’re the Google Lexuses, but I’ve also seen a few other unidentified ones (and one that said BOSCH on the side). I have never seen one of the new “Google-bugs” on the road, although I’ve heard they’re coming soon. I also don’t have a good way to tell if the cars were under human control or autonomous control during the stories I’m going to relate.
Anyway, here we go: Other drivers don’t even blink when they see one. Neither do pedestrians – there’s no “fear” from the general public about crashing or getting run over, at least not as far as I can tell.Google cars drive like your grandma – they’re never the first off the line at a stop light, they don’t accelerate quickly, they don’t speed, and they never take any chances with lane changes (cut people off, etc.).
(..)
Honestly, I don’t think it will take long for other drivers to realize that self-driving cars are “easy targets” in traffic.
Overall, I would say that I’m impressed with how these things operate. I actually do feel safer around a self-driving car than most other California drivers.
The public stance on this could change quicker in favor of self driving cars than we might think today.
