The recent accident between a Google self-driving auto and a bus made headlines because it was the first time Google admitted it was at fault, and now we have footage of the actual incident.
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Last month, one of Google’s autonomous cars, a Lexus SUV, caused a minor accident while driving the streets of Mountain View, California.
This Feb. 14, 2016, photo provided by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority shows damage to a public bus after a self-driving Lexus SUV, operated by Google, collided with it in Mountain View, Calif. Scrapes are seen in front of and behind the door, and a piece of the vehicle is stuck in the door.
The collision was not without its human cost, though – the bus was forced to stop at the accident scene, and passengers were forced to exit the vehicle. A transit bus, however, was approaching from the rear.
Google said the auto was responsible for the crash.
For more, read Google’s DMV accident report and the company’s February report on the self-driving auto program.
Though the bus was going only 15 miles per hour, the impact damaged the side and front of the Lexus.
Following a Valentine’s Day collision between a bus and an autonomous auto, Google engineers have reportedly refined the vehicle’s software to better “understand” the sometimes bullying nature of public transportation.
According to the report, Google’s auto meant to turn right off a major boulevard when it detected sandbags around a storm drain at the intersection.
A report released by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles said that the vehicle and the test driver “believed the bus would slow or allow the Google vehicle to continue”.
Google cars have been involved in almost a dozen collisions in or around Mountain View since starting to test on city streets in the spring of 2014.
He acknowledged that Google’s vehicle did have some responsibility but said it was “not black and white”. The Google employee did not try to intervene before the crash.
Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group, called for Google to release any video it has of the crash.
The vast majority of accidents on the road are caused by driver error.
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“This is a classic example of the negotiation that’s a normal part of driving”.
