Metro Phoenix is the next stop for Google’s self-driving car testing program. Google chose the new location to give their cars a chance to “practice driving in a desert environment — and experience handling some of Phoenix’s quirks, like cacti, golf cart crossings, and time-based speed limits.”
To date, Google’s self-driven cars have travelled more than 1.5 million miles and are currently out on the streets of Mountain View, CA, Austin, TX, Kirkland, WA and now Phoenix.
The Google testing fleet includes both modified Lexus SUVs and new prototype vehicles that are designed from the ground up to be fully self-driving.
Google reports that there are safety drivers aboard all vehicles for now.