Waymo, the Google Autonomous car company, was involved in a crash in Arizona. Though no one was badly injured this marks another accident and blemish for autonomous vehicles. We will have to wait to see the full report on who was at fault.
The reports was an accident involving a grey Honda sedan and the Waymo Chystler Pacifica. Here is a quote from the source.
“We are currently investigating a minor injury collision involving two vehicles, one of which is a Waymo autonomous vehicle,” the statement reads. “This afternoon around noon a vehicle (Honda sedan) traveling eastbound on Chandler Blvd. had to swerve to avoid striking a vehicle traveling northbound on Los Feliz Dr.”
“As the Honda swerved, the vehicle continued eastbound into the westbound lanes of Chandler Blvd. & struck the Waymo vehicle, which was traveling at a slow speed and in autonomous mode.”
Though the concerns of autonomous vehicles getting into accidents may concern the public. The reality is whether people are behind the wheel or machines we will still have accidents. The hope is we can limit the accidents to minor injuries. Despite the latest news I am still behind seeing autonomous vehicles enter the road. They provide a lot of potential to aid drivers that are fatigued or distracted. The hope is we can get to a point where a major accident is unheard of outside of the movies.