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Google working on self-driving car
One aim is to reduce human error behind wheel
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Having trouble adjusting to the new ban on driving and dialing? Google's self-driving car may offer the solution — in 2020.
With its sleek design and amazing independence, the self-driving Lexus does just that: drives itself. No attention from the rider is necessary for a safe commute.
This amazing technology could potentially take texting and driving to a whole new level. In fact, reading a book, browsing Twitter and checking emails will all become possibilities for drivers with Google's car.
This is just one of the benefits Google's newest innovation provides. According to Time, the car "has logged over 700,000 miles without causing an accident," which ironically proves as a better driving record than some people have.
A major aspect that makes this car so different is its reliance on a specific map system, according to CNET. The system breaks down every object in the car's path. Knowing where road signs and hazards are is essential to the car's successful travel. The car can safely dodge obstacles as small as potholes and cyclists. Even more impressive than this, the various sensors on the car keep it out of another car's blind spot. Google's car takes driving safely to a new level.
This isn't enough to convince some critics of the car's safety features, though. Time reported the car also responds to a physical driver at any moment throughout the ride. In an emergency, the driver may take over. However, this shouldn't be necessary due to the car's unbelievable capabilities.
Google's technology is constantly upgrading and changing. The incredible part about all this advancing technology is that it isn't far from acting as the new norm. The car should hit the roads between 2017 and 2020.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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