Google claims some responsibility, self-driving car collided with bus in California

Google self driving car

Google self-driving cars have come under scrutiny after one of the vehicles rammed into a bus on February 14. Even as no major injury was reported after the incident that happened in Mountain View, California, Google authorities are going to ponder over the issue with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Reportedly, Lexus RX450h autonomous car was running on the road at 2mph, and it hit the bus that was travelling at 15mph. The driver of the car said that he thought that the bus would eventually slow down, and so he let the self-driving computer operate the vehicle.

Google claims responsibility (well, not really)

Google released a statement claiming partial blame for the incident and said that the collision could have been averted if the self-driven car would not have moved. Google made modifications to the automotive software after the incident and said that the cars have been made to understand that large vehicles may not yield as per the computer, and such situations would be handled aptly from now on.

Also, the company’s autonomous vehicle project is in for some trouble if DMV finds fault with the car about the incident. The DMV authorities have yet to investigate the incident.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said that they were probing the case. Ross informed that the bus’s pivoting joint was hit by the self-driving car, and the passengers were moved to another bus.

Self-driving car regulations

Meanwhile, US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is mulling a decision to follow the same traffic rules for the self-driving cars that are levied on human-driven vehicles, which could be a good move but nothing has been finalized as yet.

Google has been working on self-driving vehicles running on the road without a steering wheel and brake pedals and has been in a battle with the California authorities for the same.

The latest incident could hamper the plans of the company even as no major events have been reported for the autonomous technology vehicles that have been on the roads of major U.S. cities for over six months.

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Nitin Agarwal

Nitin started PC-Tablet because of his keen interest in space research, technology, and gadgets. He is an avid reader, technology enthusiast, and like to explore new places. His passion for knowledge keeps him running all the time.