Google Self-Driving Car Project Monthly Report [pdf]

I'm thinking the same-thing but they could even take this data out of the self driving car, apply it to a normal car and even in that case it would be a huge change that could be incredibly beneficial!

I think Google can do better than just "not at fault". Many of us have avoided (chain reaction or other) accidents by evading a would-be rear-ender (although this can backfire in that if you use up your cushion you may then be pushed into the obstacle ahead in addition to being hit from behind). Also, there are times where overly cautious braking causes chain reactions and collisions (at least, an extremely competent+cautious friend of mine told me he caused one once - maybe it's rare).

Similarly, although we might do better to choose a world with different incentives (like one where 1/3 or more of cars are rigid rule-entitled automata), many of us have (selfish-rationally) made room for incompetent lane changers even if it means violating lane rules ourselves.

The description of June 4 sounds exactly like an accident where I was driving the car that touched the one in front of me. My foot slipped from the brake.

The driver in front reported injuries and asked damages, I'm still paying the consequences on my insurance rate. I still remember her face vividly, I noticed the moment when she started doing mental calculations about how much she could get out of that.

I hope she gets what she's got coming for her, and self driving cars can't come soon enough, especially for the sensor arrays mounted on each cars that will provide ample proof of what accidents are really like for insurance purposes.

I'm sorta unconvinced we'll actually see any benefit. Humans are notoriously picky about their privacy; The ability to get black-box data for insurance purposes has been around for years, but most people would rather not, for good reason, have their insurers poking around their driving habits. I expect some backlash against cars collecting this data on their driving neighbors. What if the self-driving car isn't involved in an accident, but witnesses one? Can the courts subpoena google for the two driver's locations and velocities? That will be a fantastic NYT headline: "Are Google cars spying on you?"

Look at public health data. There's a vast goldmine of data that could be collected, that could track, trace, and storm-warning diseases, but that is for legal reasons hidden behind a confidentiality barrier. I'd like it to be a simple check if any of your partners were STD positive; This is currently information that is hard to get reliably (Sure, your partner can hand you test results, but not verifiable ones; The clinic won't attest to it if you call to reference your partner's results, so you can never be certain it's not a clever photoshop). This is data that has direct, tangible impact on those around you, and in many states it is a crime to not reveal certain STDs. Still, these spread, because we're afraid of making the STD-infected social pariahs, and I can't see a world where we don't have the same problem with bad drivers.

I've seen the new cars in the San Antonio / Middlefield area. They look small - golf-cart sized. When you can use them via an Uber-like service, I'm in.