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Apple Reports First Self-Driving Collision

Apple Reports First Self-Driving Collision

Our partners at Van Chevrolet Cadillac Body Shop in Kansas City, MO have shown special interest in the arena of autonomous vehicles, as it directly impacts their field along with the automotive industry as a whole. With that in mind, an accident report posted in August by Apple confirmed that one of their early model self-driving cars was involved in a collision, where their car was rear-ended by a driver while merging onto an expressway. In a release, Apple stated that this isn't deterring them from their autonomous vehicle production goals.

On Aug. 24, one of Apple's Lexus RX 450h self-driving vehicles in "autonomous mode" was merging onto the Lawrence Expressway in Sunnyvale, California at less than 1 mile per hour when it was rear-ended by a 2016 Nissan Leaf going about 15 miles per hour, according to the report posted on the California Department of Motor Vehicles website. The accident happened at about 3 p.m. The Apple vehicle had slowed and was waiting for a safe gap in traffic to complete the merge according to the report. Both vehicles were damaged, but there were no reported injuries. No blame has been assigned in the accident.

With Uber's fatal self-driving car accident in March fresh in the minds of many, this represents further trepidation in the area of autonomous vehicles. Apple currently holds permits for 60 vehicles and has been developing proprietary software and hardware that makes it easier for their vehicles to spot hazards and pedestrians more easily than other developers prototypes. 

The California DMV has received 95 collision reports involving autonomous vehicles as of August 31 of this year, showing that there is a lot of room for the technology to grow before it is ready for implementation. Recent advances in safety systems have brought us closer to the ideal system, but every traffic incident that involves self-driving cars shows us how far they have to go before the general populous will accept them as a viable alternative to human drivers. Hopefully breakthroughs will be made in the near future that will increase both functionality and confidence.

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source: autonews.com