Handling sensor occlusions for autonomous vehicles

1. A method for maneuvering a vehicle, the method comprising:

maneuvering, by one or more processors of one or more computing devices, a vehicle along a route, wherein the route includes the vehicle traveling on a first roadway and crossing over at least one lane of traffic of a second roadway;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a trajectory from the at least one lane of traffic from the second roadway that will cross with the route during the crossing at a first point;

selecting, by the one or more processors, a second point beyond a range of sensors of the vehicle, the second point corresponding to a hypothetical vehicle moving towards the route along the at least one lane of traffic;

determining, by the one or more processors, a distance between the first point and the second point;

determining, by the one or more processors, an amount of time for the hypothetical vehicle to travel the distance;

comparing the amount of time to a threshold amount of time; and

maneuvering, by the one or more processors, the vehicle based on the comparison in order to complete the crossing.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the range of the sensors is defined as a point or distance at or beyond which the sensors are no longer providing information on detected objects with an acceptable reliability value.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crossing involves a left-hand turn where the vehicle does not have the right of way over the at least one lane of traffic.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crossing involves a crossing of an intersection where the vehicle does not have the right of way over the at least one lane of traffic.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crossing involves the vehicle crossing the at least one lane of traffic and merging with a second lane of traffic after making a turn into the second lane of traffic, and the method further comprises:

identifying a second trajectory from the second lane of traffic that will cross with the route during the turn at a third point;

selecting a fourth point beyond a range of sensors of the vehicle, the fourth point corresponding to a second hypothetical vehicle moving towards the route along the second lane of traffic;

determining a distance between the third point and the fourth point;

determine a second amount of time for the second hypothetical vehicle to travel the distance;

comparing the second amount of time to a second threshold amount of time; and

maneuvering the vehicle based on the comparison of the second amount of time to the second threshold amount of time to complete the turn.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the amount of time is based on an assumption that the hypothetical vehicle is moving at a particular speed.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising determining the particular speed using a posted speed limit for the second roadway plus a percentage of the speed limit.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using pre-stored map information to select the second point where in the pre-stored map information identifies a merge point beyond the range of the sensors.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crossing involves the vehicle crossing the at least one lane of traffic and merging with a second lane of traffic after making a turn into the second lane of traffic, and the method further comprises:

receiving sensor data indicating that a second vehicle is located within the second lane of traffic and within the range of the sensors; and

determining not to select a point beyond the range of the sensors for a hypothetical vehicle in the second lane of traffic based on the location of the second vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving sensor data indicating that a second vehicle is at a location within a second lane of traffic and within the range of the sensors, and wherein determining the amount of time includes setting a bound on the amount of time based on the location of the second vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data further indicates that a second vehicle is in a stopped condition, and determining not to select the point is further based on the stopped condition of the second vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crossing involves a right-hand turn where the vehicle does not have the right of way over the at least one lane of traffic.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the threshold amount of time by:

selecting a location along the route and beyond the cross point; and

estimating a second amount of time for the vehicle to reach the location, wherein the second amount of time is the threshold amount of time.

14. A system for maneuvering a vehicle, the system comprising one or more computing devices having one or more processors, the one or more computing devices being configured to:

maneuver a vehicle along a route, wherein the route includes the vehicle traveling on a first roadway and crossing over at least one lane of traffic of a second roadway;

identify a trajectory from the at least one lane of traffic from the second roadway that will cross with the route during the crossing at a first point;

select a second point beyond a range of sensors of the vehicle, the second point corresponding to a hypothetical vehicle moving towards the route along the at least one lane of traffic;

determine a distance between the first point and the second point;

determine an amount of time for the hypothetical vehicle to travel the distance;

compare the amount of time to a threshold amount of time; and

maneuver the vehicle based on the comparison in order to complete the crossing.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the crossing involves an unprotected crossing of an intersection where the vehicle does not have the right of way over the at least one lane of traffic.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the crossing involves the vehicle crossing the at least one lane of traffic and merging with a second lane of traffic after making a turn into the second lane of traffic, and the one or more computing devices are further configured to:

identify a second trajectory from the second lane of traffic that will cross with the route during the turn at a third point;

select a fourth point beyond a range of sensors of the vehicle, the fourth point corresponding to a second hypothetical vehicle moving towards the route along the second lane of traffic;

determine a distance between the third point and the fourth point;

determine a second amount of time for the second hypothetical vehicle to travel the distance;

comparing the second amount of time to a second threshold amount of time; and

maneuver the vehicle, based on the comparison of the second amount of time to a second threshold amount of time, to complete the turn.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the crossing involves the vehicle crossing the at least one lane of traffic and merging with a second lane of traffic after making a turn into the second lane of traffic, and the one or more computing devices are further configured to:

receive sensor data indicating that a second vehicle is located within the second lane of traffic and within the range of the sensors; and

determine not to select a point beyond the range of the sensors for a hypothetical vehicle in the second lane of traffic based on the location of the second vehicle.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to:

receive sensor data indicating that a second vehicle is at a location within the second lane of traffic and within the range of the sensors; and

determine an amount of time by setting a bound on the amount of time based on the location of the second vehicle.

19. The system of claim 14 , further comprising the vehicle.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which instructions are stored, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, the method comprising:

maneuvering a vehicle along a route, wherein the route includes the vehicle traveling on a first roadway and crossing over at least one lane of traffic of a second roadway;

identifying a trajectory from the at least one lane of traffic from the second roadway that will cross with the route during the crossing at a first point;

selecting a second point beyond a range of sensors of the vehicle, the second point corresponding to a hypothetical vehicle moving towards the route along the at least one lane of traffic;

determining a distance between the first point and the second point;

determining an amount of time for the hypothetical vehicle to travel the distance; and

comparing the amount of time to a threshold amount of time; and maneuvering the vehicle based on the comparison in order to complete the crossing.