Google Self-Driving Cars Could Soon Have Flypaper-Like 'Sticky' Hoods To Protect Pedestrians

Google prides itself on the safety record of its groundbreaking self-driving cars but as an extra precaution the company is working on a "sticky" hood that will prevent pedestrians from bouncing off the cars if hit. Having driven over 1.5 million miles since beginning testing in 2014, Google's self-driving cars reported their first accident only last month when the search giant admitted it was at least partly responsible for an accident, which saw one of its fleet of Lexus SUVs collide with a public bus. Previously, all crashes reported involving one of Google's fleet had been blamed on driver error. Google is keen to continue leading the way in the area of autonomous cars amid competition from traditional carmakers as well as companies like Faraday Future, Tesla and reportedly Apple. To that end, Google wants to help protect those pedestrians who may wander in front of one of its cars -- by making them "stick" to the hood.