Google Self-Driving Car Involved in Collision; Incident Caused by Van Running a Red Light

Ever since Google first hinted at the concept of a self-driving car back in 2009, the ride to the initial test run in California in 2012 was anything but smooth. Formidable obstacles stood in the way, including regulation complexities and, more crucially, a skeptical public perception of this groundbreaking technology.

However, over the years, public sentiment toward this technology has gradually shifted. Nevertheless, reports from the past weekend revealed that a Google self-driving car was involved in its most severe crash to date, indicating that there are still hurdles to overcome before this technology can be fully embraced.

The incident transpired when a human-operated van attempted to beat a red light, resulting in a collision with the Google Lexus car. Fortunately, no injuries were reported from the incident. In a statement to 9to5 Google, the tech giant provided the following details:

“A Google vehicle was traveling northbound on Phyllis Ave. in Mountain View when a car heading westbound on El Camino Real ran a red light and collided with the right side of our vehicle. Our light was green for at least six seconds before our car entered the intersection. Thousands of crashes happen every day on U.S. roads, and red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes in the U.S. Human error plays a role in 94% of these crashes, which is why we’re developing fully self-driving technology to make our roads safer.”

An eye-witness account corroborated that the autonomous car was entirety blame-free. Since the crash, the vehicle has been removed from service for further investigation.

While the safety of these autonomous vehicles has sparked debate over the years, various safety trials have proved promising, granting credence to the belief that with the right regulations in place, these autonomous cars could potentially ensure unmatched safety on our roads. Last week, former US President Barack Obama penned an article expressing his administration’s keen interest in collaborating with stakeholders to develop beneficial regulations for all road users, including autonomous vehicles.

Despite this setback, Google continues to rigorously test this evolving technology. As reported by the British tabloid Telegraph, Google’s Chairman emphasized the necessity of rigor in perfecting this technology. “We had one with a bus, which is not good enough. We’re trying to get as close to 0 [accidents] as possible,” he stated.

In January, Google came clean in an astounding revelation: human intervention was required 341 times within a 14-month span due to hazard detection and software glitches. In 13 of those cases, intervention was deemed necessary to avert an imminent collision. Precarious driving situations necessitated driver intervention in 69 cases, whereas the rest of the incidents – a whopping 272 – were triggered by software failures.

Nevertheless, the race towards autonomous driving technology continues to gather pace. Industry giants such as Uber, Volvo, Ford, and BMW are all known to be developing their self-driving car prototypes, with Uber’s major rival Lyft eyeing 2021 as the year to roll out these autonomous vehicles as a part of their fleet. This suggests ongoing negotiations with an automobile manufacturer, setting the stage for a future where autonomous vehicles become a common presence on our roads.