Google Starts Testing Self-Driving Cars In Kirkland, WA

Google initially started testing its self-driving cars in Mountain View. The technology has come a long way since then and only recently Google started testing these cars in Austin and now it’s adding another city to the list. The company has confirmed that it has started testing its self-driving cars in Kirkland, Washington. Google says that Kirkland is an “ideal place” to test its fleet of autonomous cars.

It believes that Kirkland is an ideal place because the temperate climate will provide plenty of opportunities to test the cars in rainy and wet conditions. Since the town has many hills it will allow engineers to test the cars’ sensors at various elevations and angles.

Google already put a autonomous Lexus RX450h SUB on the streets of North Kirkland a few weeks ago so that a detailed map of the area can be created to allow future self-driving cars to navigate the area more efficiently. It appears that Google will only be testing its Lexus SUVs in Kirkland as the Seattle Times reports that it has no plans to bring its self-designed autonomous vehicles to this city.

Kirkland is excited to have Google’s cars of the future plying its roads. Mayor Amy Walen said: “We are excited about the potential self-driving cars have to reduce accident rates and to provide mobility for people who can’t get around easily.”

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Transportation
Tags: Google, Self-Driving Cars