Vehicular Accident Involving Waymo Self-Driving Van In Arizona

Waymo’s self-driving vehicle was involved in a vehicular accident in Chandler, Arizona, on Friday.  This was reported by local news stations.  There were minor injuries reported at the scene.  The Waymo self-driving minivan crashed into another vehicle.

Details Of The Crash

According to investigators from the Chandler Police Department, The Waymo van was in autonomous mode with an occupant behind the wheel when the vehicular accident happened.  But investigations showed that the said minivan was not the “violator vehicle”.  The Chandler Police Department and Waymo did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

But a spokesperson for the Chandler Police Department sent a statement.  According to the statement, the vehicular accident involved a Waymo minivan and a Honda sedan.  The accident happened along Chandler Blvd. where the eastbound sedan swerved to avoid striking a vehicle travelling northbound on Los Feliz Drive.

As the Honda sedan swerved, it continued eastbound into the westbound lanes of Candler Blvd.  It then hit the Waymo vehicle.  The self-driving minivan was travelling at a slow speed in autonomous mode.  The Waymo had an occupant behind the wheel who suffered minor injuries.  The minivan had its side caved in while the sedan had a smashed front end.  Both vehicles were towed from the scene.  According to the statement, this incident is still under investigation.

Another Incident Involving A Self-Driving Vehicle

A self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in March.  The pedestrian is the first known victim of a crash involving an autonomous vehicle.  Uber has halted its self-driving tests nationwide in the wake of the crash.  And the industry has faced renewed scrutiny.

Another incident involved a Tesla Model X SUV.  The car had its Autopilot feature turned on when the accident happened.  It slammed into a concrete highway lane divider and burst into flames.  The driver died shortly afterwards at the hospital.  This is the second confirmed fatal crash in which Tesla’s Autopilot system was controlling the car.

How The Accidents Affected Self-Driving Vehicles

The initial reaction from the public is that these autonomous vehicles are not safe.  Naturally the companies producing these vehicles suffered from the negative feedback and reaction of the public.  These accidents put doubts on prospective self-driving vehicles patrons.

Let us always bear in mind, though, that these are accidents.  Nobody wanted these incidents to happen.  These companies are looking into the situation and learning from the incidents.  They will be able to know what went wrong then, and do something to correct it.  The main goal of these companies is to provide us with a stress free mode of transportation.  Not making accidents involving their vehicles happen.

Advancement in technology cannot be stopped.  More innovations are coming.  Mistakes and accidents happen.  Let us just learn from them, do something to prevent it from happening again, and move on with our life.