Google cars come to Washington state (specifically, Kirkland)
Google continues to test the future of driving, and have come to the Evergreen state.
Now before you get too excited, the cars are not for us yet. They're just being tested. But Kirkland - the Seattle suburb that's home to Costco - is only the third city to see the vehicles on its streets.
The company has previously tested the self-driving cars in Mountain View, California, where Google is based, and Austin, Texas.
Google said in a statement Wednesday its test drivers have been driving a single Lexus SUV in an area of Kirkland and making detailed maps of the streets. The company said when the self-driving car begins operations there will be a test driver in the vehicle to take over if needed.
The company has concluded that human error is the biggest danger in driving, and the company wants to remove the steering wheel and pedals from cars of the future, giving people minimal ability to intervene.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee praised the testing.
"We’re looking forward to seeing the cars on the road and understanding more about how self-driving cars might someday improve safety and provide traffic relief," he said in a statement.
Buzzfeed unearthed this redacted filing with the FCC from last month, which states that Google will expand to three more cities. Surely, Spokane is on that list, right?
