'Apparently MVPD doesn’t understand it is legal for a nEV to drive on 35mph streets under the speed limit'
http://www.mailtribune.com/article/ZZ/20151112/BUSINESS/311129866 A policeman pulled over one of Google's self-driving cars because it was going so slowly Nov. 12, 2015 Jillian D'Onfro [image https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-0/p180x540/12208756_10207723907406259_2416803207132659339_n.jpg?oh=03de83d57bfc7d19ecae5ce3ec9d3595&oe=56BC638A / ©2015 Aleksandr Milewski — in Los Altos, California ] It's not speeding that Google's self-driving cars have to worry about. The Mountain View police department pulled over one of the company's automated vehicles for moving too slowly, according to Zandr Milewski, who posted a picture of the incident on Facebook: Post by: Zandr Milewski "We talked to the driver, apparently MVPD doesn't get NEVs (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles) and pulled them over to ask why they were all going so slow," Milewski writes in the comments of the post (which we spotted via Fusion [ http://fusion.net/story/232280/self-driving-car-pulled-over/ ]). Google confirmed the report with its own post on Google+ [ https://plus.google.com/+SelfDrivingCar/posts/j9ouVZSZnRf ]. "Driving too slowly? Bet humans don’t get pulled over for that too often," the company quipped. Google's prototype cars can only drive 25 MPH, for safety reasons and so that they feel "friendly and approachable" while driving on public roads. They also have manual controls, so that the human inside the car can take over and drive if they need to (in response to a cop, for example). "Like this officer, people sometimes flag us down when they want to know more about our project," Google continues. "After 1.2 million miles of autonomous driving (that’s the human equivalent of 90 years of driving experience), we’re proud to say we’ve never been ticketed!" The cars are currently cruising around public roads in the Austin, Texas and in the city around its HQ. As for Milewski, it wasn't the first time he'd spotted one of Google's autonomous vehicles and it probably won't be the last, as he told Business Insider via Facebook Messenger: "It's Mountain View, these things are everywhere." [© 2015 Local Media Group] ... https://plus.google.com/wm/1/+SelfDrivingCar/posts Google Self-Driving Car Project http://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/ ... [video http://youtu.be/uCezICQNgJU Ready for the Road Google Self-Driving Car Project May 15, 2015 We started designing the world’s first fully self-driving vehicle to transform mobility, making it easier, safer and more enjoyable for everyone to get around. Now we're ready for the next step of our project: this summer, our prototype vehicles will leave the test track and hit the familiar roads of Mountain View,California, with our safety drivers aboard. https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/self-driving-vehicle-prototypes-on-road.html ] http://fusion.net/story/232280/self-driving-car-pulled-over/ One of Google’s self-driving cars got pulled over for going too slow November 12, 2015 Kevin Roose [image https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-0/p180x540/12208756_10207723907406259_2416803207132659339_n.jpg?oh=03de83d57bfc7d19ecae5ce3ec9d3595&oe=56BC638A ] Self-driving cars will someday be the norm on American roads. But until that happens, there are going to be a lot of awkward run-ins with people who don’t quite understand the concept of a car that drives itself. Case in point: this photo, captured by Zandr Milewski and posted to Facebook this afternoon, that shows what appears to be one of Google’s self-driving cars getting pulled over by a police officer. In a comment on his post, Milewski said that he had “talked to the driver” of the self-driving car. (Presumably, he meant the human sitting in the front seat.) He said that “apparently MVPD [Mountain View Police Department] doesn’t get NEVs [Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, a classification of vehicle that is limited to slower-moving roads] and pulled them over to ask why they were all going so slow.” Google’s self-driving cars are still being tested, and their speeds are being capped at 25 mph for safety reasons. They have also been programmed to be extra-careful on the roads. According to Google’s self-driving car FAQ: The cars drive conservatively. For example, they pause 1.5 seconds after the light turns green at an intersection because many accidents happen during this time. So the next time you’re tempted to honk at a tiny car driving at grandmotherly speeds ahead of you, just remember: it might be a robot doing the driving. Update: In a Google+ post, Google’s self-driving car project responded to the traffic stop, saying: We want (self-driving cars) to feel friendly and approachable, rather than zooming scarily through neighborhood streets. Like this officer, people sometimes flag us down when they want to know more about our project. After 1.2 million miles of autonomous driving (that’s the human equivalent of 90 years of driving experience), we’re proud to say we’ve never been ticketed! [© fusion.net] ... http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2015/11/google-self-driving-car-pulled-over-for-not-going-fast-enough/ Police pull over self-driving Google car for doing 25mph in a 35mph zone Nov 13, 2015 ... http://kron4.com/2015/11/13/mountain-view-police-pull-over-google-self-driving-car/ Mountain View police pull over Google self-driving car November 13, 2015 ... http://mountainviewpoliceblog.com/2015/11/12/inquiring-minds-want-to-know/ ... The [MVPD] officer stopped the car and made contact with the operators to learn more about how the car was choosing speeds along certain roadways and to educate the operators about impeding traffic per 22400(a) of the California Vehicle Code. The Google self-driving cars operate under the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Definition per 385.5 of the California Vehicle Code and can only be operated on roadways with speed limits at or under 35 mph. In this case, it was lawful for the car to be traveling on the street as El Camino Real is rated at 35 mph ... For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Ignorant-MVPD-stopped-auton-Google-nEV-for-driving-regulated-nEV-speed-limit-tp4678643.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
