It seems that one of Google's famed self-driving cars is responsible for causing a collision with a bus in Mountain View, California, near to Google's headquarters.
On February 14th, 2016, a Google self-driving car, cruising at 2 mph, pulled out of a driveway into the path of an oncoming bus traveling at 15 mph, according to the BBC. Google's test driver reported that he figured that the bus would slow down to wait for the car, so he neglected to override the car's auto-driving functionality. Fortunately, the accident caused no injuries, and only minor damage was done.
The BBC reports that Google is currently making plans to meet with California's Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the incident. According to the BBC, Google stated that "'We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadn't moved, there wouldn't have been a collision.'"
This incident could serve as a setback for Google, since in all previous accidents, other road users were to blame for their respective incidents. The autonomous vehicle's (AV) movements were reportedly hampered by sandbags lying in the road, and Google asserted that they have refined their cars' driving algorithms to better account for potential complications.
Google also stated that they have further improved the algorithm of their cars' driving mechanics to allow their cars to "'recognize that buses [. . .] are less likely to yield to [them] than other types of vehicles.'" The company concluded with an assertion that it hopes to "'handle situations like this more gracefully in the future'" (BBC).
On February 14th, 2016, a Google self-driving car, cruising at 2 mph, pulled out of a driveway into the path of an oncoming bus traveling at 15 mph, according to the BBC. Google's test driver reported that he figured that the bus would slow down to wait for the car, so he neglected to override the car's auto-driving functionality. Fortunately, the accident caused no injuries, and only minor damage was done.
The BBC reports that Google is currently making plans to meet with California's Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the incident. According to the BBC, Google stated that "'We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadn't moved, there wouldn't have been a collision.'"
This incident could serve as a setback for Google, since in all previous accidents, other road users were to blame for their respective incidents. The autonomous vehicle's (AV) movements were reportedly hampered by sandbags lying in the road, and Google asserted that they have refined their cars' driving algorithms to better account for potential complications.
Google also stated that they have further improved the algorithm of their cars' driving mechanics to allow their cars to "'recognize that buses [. . .] are less likely to yield to [them] than other types of vehicles.'" The company concluded with an assertion that it hopes to "'handle situations like this more gracefully in the future'" (BBC).