Why Self-Driving Cars *Can't Even* With Construction Zones

If you're a self-driving car, though, it can be devastating. Work zones flummox the future rulers of our roads because they override or obliterate the sturdy markers by which the vehicles are taught to navigate. With no warning, they enter a world where cones trump double yellow lines, bollards replace curbs, and construction worker hand signals outweigh traffic lights. That's why self-driving pioneers like Google and Delphi cite construction as a common reason their human engineers take control of the wheel while testing: The cues designed for human drivers can stump advanced computer systems. This gets to the central challenge of autonomous driving: How do you teach machines to deal with the chaotic, grubby humanity of our roads, where the rules bend so easily?