Google's Robot Car Crashed, Humans At Fault

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Three people were injured when a car rear-ended Google’s self-driving Lexus on July 1 in Mountain View, California, The Detroit Bureau is reporting. It’s the 15th crash for the self-driving car and the first with injuries.

Three people had “minor whiplash” Google’s Director of Driverless Cars Chris Urmson wrote and the driver of the car that rear-ended the Lexus appeared to be at fault.

“Our self-driving cars are being hit surprisingly often by other drivers who are distracted and not paying attention to the road,” he wrote.

The robots will not look kindly on our inattention.

According to Google’s monthly report, the fleet of autonomous cars has traveled more than 1 million miles without human piloting, and the cars are averaging around 10,000 miles traveled each week.

Google says the autonomous cars have not been at fault in any of its 15 recorded accidents so far. Testers say the vehicles are being crashed into at a higher rate than normal due to under-reported accident numbers.

Earlier this month, Google sent two Lexus RX450h vehicles to Austin, Texas for mapping and testing.

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Ja-gti Ja-gti on Jul 17, 2015

    I figure autonomous cars will need electronics that function perfectly to drive perfectly. I doubt that the hardware will be able to perform as needed if it requires any active maintenance from the owner. My current 60k mile vehicle has had the automatic climate control go haywire (blowing max hot at max fan in the middle of the summer) and my automatic transmission wouldn't shift past fourth because an ABS sensor ring has corroded. If this car was autonomous, it would have defaulted to stop mode (safety first!) and left me stranded who knows where. Yeah technology! Anybody have a computer that's working as well now as it was ten years ago? Cause that's what autonomous cars' level of performance will have to be. After sitting outside all those years. In the winter.

  • 05lgt 05lgt on Jul 18, 2015

    Do the self driving cars do what we do and try to take the car behind us's likely reaction into account when driving? I brake hard early than reduce braking to wake up the car behind me when faced with unexpected slowing. Is that behavior built into these auto drivers? It's nice to declare results you don't like as not valid because someone else's results are not accurate, unless you are actually trying to get better. This is disappointing.

    • Sgeffe Sgeffe on Jul 19, 2015

      My Accord Touring (in the avatar) is equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control, and while it works as intended, some elements of it show some "v1.0-ness," primarily, aggressive braking when a slower car cuts in. You have to have some awareness of what's behind you, and give just enough throttle to override the ACC to gradually slow the car. I've heard that Collision-Mitigation Braking (autobrake) systems sometimes misread things as well, so in traffic, if your car is so-equipped, you may have to give the throttle the same nudge to override the braking. Imagine..another reason to hang up and drive! ;-)

  • Doublechili Doublechili on Jul 18, 2015

    "Which is safer" discussions are pointless. I'm sure the Pods will eventually be safer once there is nothing but Pods. The Pods will = a de facto mass transit system. Of course it will be safer - like a Disney ride all over the world. In the meanwhile I suspect there will be a somewhat sloppy transition period. To me, the better discussion is whether we really want a world where individuals can't drive. We'll be safer, but will we be somehow less human?

    • Bumpy ii Bumpy ii on Jul 18, 2015

      Individuals couldn't drive until 130 years ago or so. Somehow human civilization existed anyway.

  • Ixim Ixim on Jul 19, 2015

    Continuously check your mirrors. Constantly memorize every vehicle around you. Be aware that at any time, one of them might get in your way. Always have an escape route should you need it. The vehicle in front of you has the greatest influence over your progress. Stay far enough away from him so you can safely escape if necessary. Constantly plan for the road ahead. Do all of this automatically while maintaining your chosen speed. It can be done. Happy motoring!

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