A Lexus SUV being controlled by Google’s autonomous vehicle (AV) technology has crashed into the side of a bus, marking what may be the first accident caused by the self-driving technology while it was in full autonomous mode.
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Google has been testing a fleet of modified SUVs and prototype cars on the streets of Mountain View, near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters, as well as in Austin, Texas, and Kirkland, Washington, as part of its Self-Driving Car Project. As the Google AV approached the intersection, it signaled its intent to make a right turn on red onto Castro St. The Google AV then moved to the right-hand side of the lane to pass traffic in the same lane that was stopped at the intersection and proceeding straight. The Google AV test driver saw the bus approaching in the left side mirror but believed the bus would stop or slow to allow the Google AV to continue.
Google did not immediately reply to a request for comment, and its report did not address the question of fault. And we can imagine the bus driver assumed we were going to stay put. A DMV spokeswoman said the agency hoped to speak with Google on Monday. Google’s autonomous vehicles have been involved in at least a dozen accidents, with many being caused by human drivers rear-ending the autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicle software must be able to make many sophisticated decisions over the course of a trip, including weighing the potential danger of an action – such as moving across a lane – or putting drivers or pedestrians in danger. The Google driver monitoring the car’s movements made the same assumption. Fortunately, however, no one was injured. It was posted Monday on the DMV website. “It’s all there”, said Robert W. Peterson, an insurance law expert at Santa Clara University who has studied self-driving cars.
“Clearly Google’s robot cars can’t reliably cope with everyday driving situations”, said John M. Simpson of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog.
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This story has been corrected to show that Google began testing on city streets in 2014, not 2015.
