There need to be detailed scans of the roads before the cars can drive on them, because they cannot collect and process enough information in real time. So far, there are detailed maps of about 2,000 miles of California’s roads, but California has more than 170,000 miles of roads. Google says it wants to license the technology to traditional car makers when they have improved it.
Why can’t the driverless cars currently drive on all roads?
Not all roads have been thoroughly scanned yet Even the best currently-possible road scans are not of high enough quality to make these cars safe Driverless cars are restricted by law to about 2,000 of California’s 170,000 miles of road Pushback from traditional car companies