- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
TECH NEWS
Google driverless car meets cyclistVideo: Google’s self-driving car meets cyclists and out-performs far too many human drivers
Google has released a new video showing how its self-driving car is being taught to cope with common road situations such as encounters with cyclists. We’d far rather share the road with a machine that’s this courteous and patient than a lot of human drivers.
We’ve all been there. You need to turn across the traffic, but you’re not quite sure where, so you’re a bit hesitant, perhaps signalling too early and then changing your mind before finally finding the right spot.
Do this in a car and other drivers just tut a little. Do it on a bike and some bozo will be on the horn instantly and shouting at you when he gets past because you’ve delayed him by three-tenths of a nanosecond.
But not if the car’s being controlled by Google’s self-driving system. As you can see in this video, the computer that steers Google’s car can recognise a cyclist and knows to hold back when it sees a hand signal, and even to wait if the rider behaves hesitantly.
Later in the video we see the car waiting to turn right at a junction, the equivalent of a UK left turn. Not only does it wait for cyclists ahead of it to clear the junction, but it detects cyclists behind it and lets them through before making the turn.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
Latest Comments
- S.E. 1 min 11 sec ago
Without knowing them personally, all I can say is that I have a bad feeling about him - and it's not much better with David Lappartient...
- Bungle_52 3 min 41 sec ago
Reminded me of this in Parliament....
- S.E. 5 min 57 sec ago
The law is the law, but fines are maybe a bit excessive here. 2 seconds after the red there is no inconvenience for the pedestrian-cyclist or...
- S.E. 13 min 34 sec ago
Even online-shops offer very limited discounts... I waited for this week to get a 10-25% but nothing on the articles I need....
- levestane 45 min 51 sec ago
What we need is a hanger that can be bent back.
- Velophaart_95 1 hour 1 min ago
Probably because the two top teams using Scott bikes also use Sram - and it's a bike designed for them. Q36.5, and Scott-Sram - they've already...
- ktache 1 hour 9 min ago
Whilst the young lads skills are exceptional, it's the sheer unadulterated joy that touched me.
- Bungle_52 1 hour 36 min ago
Gloucestershire have told me the outcomes to nearly all my reports. I have to wait 12 months to find out now whereas I got them immediately before...
- Andrewbanshee 1 hour 57 min ago
In my experience drivist use the pavement as a continuation of their drive and pull out across it at speed without the cursory glance, and often...
- PRSboy 2 hours 2 min ago
Interesting review, particularly their good behaviour in crosswinds... @Stu Kerton, have you tested the carbon-spoked Elan version yet? I'm...
Add new comment
61 comments
It's likely to be that when the bike went past the car, the google car could only tell one big object, hence why the bike disappeared for a bit. It then reappears as the sensor realises it's actually two separate objects.
Pages