Yet another self-driving vehicle has been involved in a traffic accident. Reports show the technology was driving the car, not a human driver.
A Waymo self-driving van crashed in Chandler, Arizona. The autonomous car firm, which is a subsidiary of the company behind Google, Alphabet, started to test the autonomous car technology back in 2009. Recently, the firm announced that it would start testing the technology without an actual driver behind the wheel.
The accident, however, did not happen after the driver was taken out of the picture. It happened, instead, while the back-up driver was present. Still, the autonomous system was being used, so the driver is not to blame.
Authorities say the autonomous van was traveling in the westbound lane prior to the crash. At the time, a sedan traveling east swerved and drove into the opposite lane. It then hit the van.
Authorities say that the sedan driver was trying to avoid an accident.
The sedan can’s front-end was completely destroyed, reports said.
While details on injuries and other consequences of the accident will only be known once the company reveals the video collected by the autonomous technology, we’re glad that no fatalities were reported.
We hope that this type of accident is reviewed as self-driving car accidents have been happening quite frequently. These events make us wonder whether the technology will ever be ready for commercial use.
While the idea that self-driving cars can help to bring an end to accidents is valid and one that we want to support, we’re also concerned with the growing number of accidents associated with the technology and how companies are addressing them. Unless tech firms responsible for these systems are able to make fool-proof autonomous car technologies, we are concerned that the system designed to put an end to accidents will actually increase the risk of accidents.
For more on this accident, follow this link.
