PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Google's Self-Driving Car Takes Blind Man for a Ride

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

While most of us can only dream about one day getting the chance to sit behind the wheel of one of Google's revolutionary self-driving cars, one lucky California man recently did just that.

Google this week posted a YouTube video (below) showing Morgan Hill, Calif. resident Steve Mahan, who is legally blind, being taken on a ride in its self-driving Toyota Prius. Google released the video to celebrate that it has safely completed 200,000 miles of computer-lead driving.

The video shows Mahan sitting in the driver's seat as the car steers itself, using radar and lasers to make sure the road is clear. The car takes him through the drive-through of Taco Bell, then to the dry cleaners as Mahan jokes that "this is some of the best driving I've ever done."

"Ninety-five percent of my vision is gone, I'm well past legally blind," Mahan says in the video.  "Where this would change my life is to give me the independence and flexibility to go the places I both want to go and need to go, when I need to do those things."

Google said it arranged Mahan's ride through a carefully programmed route as a special test outside of its core research efforts.

"We organized this test as a technical experiment, but we think it's also a promising look at what autonomous technology may one day deliver if rigorous technology and safety standards can be met," Google wrote in a Gooogle+ post Wednesday.

The Web giant announced its self-driving car project back in 2010 with the goal to "make driving safer, more enjoyable and more efficient." But don't get too excited about the prospect of owning one of Google's self-driving cars anytime soon  — the search giant said it still has a lot of design and testing to do before the technology is ready.

Last month, Nevada became the first state in the U.S. to approve self-driving cars, a necessary step for Google's vision to become a reality. A California state senator is crafting a similar bill. For more, see Ford Taking a Slow Road to Self-Driving Cars.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read full bio