# How do those Google Driverless Cars avoid things darting onto the roadway?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-those-google-driverless-cars-avoid-things-darting-onto-the-roadway/695802>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 18, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-those-google-driverless-cars-avoid-things-darting-onto-the-roadway/695802 "2014-08-18T03:06:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-those-google-driverless-cars-avoid-things-darting-onto-the-roadway/695802/21 "2014-08-18T21:37:21Z")

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> [@thirdname](#):
>
> It seems unlikely to me that they could cope with every unusual situation that comes up. It would seem to require true artificial intelligence. Could it deal with these situations?
> 
> -there’s an obstacle in the road. Is it worth swerving around an possibly causing an accident? Can it tell a cardboard box from a giant hunk of steel? A dog from a baby?

Why, should it run over one and not the other? As for cardboard boxes, I’d avoid them also, since you have no way of knowing what is inside.

> [@](#):
>
> -can it deal with construction zones, conflicting lane painting, unmarked pavement etc? Unmapped dirt roads?

I drive the same roads the Google cars drive, and I can assure you we’ve got tons of conflicting lane painting/no lane markers here. Including some right near Google HQ. I’m pretty sure it can handle that.

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