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Google cars can manage three-point turns

by on15 November 2016


Now officially better than Bulgarian drivers

Google has said that it has finally got its self-driving cars programmed to do perfect three point turns.

If this is true, then it has finally done something that drivers in Bulgaria have never managed to do. A Bulgarian three-point turn is to simply reverse at high speed to the nearest intersection, which means that pedestrians have to look both ways when crossing because there could be someone coming backwards on the side of the road.

Google’s latest report said that three point turns were an artform, especially in tight spaces that may turn three points into seven or eight. Right now, Google's autonomous tech is better than humans, thanks to its 360-degree vision and constant calculation, the company claims.

The cars were taught to recognize everything from parked cars to rubbish bins when making three-point turns. Google claims its cars practice about 1,000 turns of this nature every week.

Google also programmed its cars to try and mimic the natural feeling of how a human might execute a similar turn. The cars prefer wider arcs with more forward motion, which may be slower, but is more comfortable for passengers.

Google also uses its monthly report to chart collisions. This past month, there was one. While at a stop sign, yielding to traffic, one of Google's gumdrop cars was rear-ended by a human driver at a net velocity of three miles per hour. The gumdrop had a bit of damage on the hatch, but everything else was fine.

Having beaten Bulgarians, it will be up to Google to try its most impossible challenge and drive in Rome.

Last modified on 15 November 2016
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