Self-Driving Cars Have Already Been Involved in Accidents, Google Reports

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) June 10, 2015 – Recent investigations have revealed that self-driving cars have been involved in accidents, but most of them still seem to have involved human error.

Although Florida is one of three states that track and regulate autonomous vehicles, no crashes involving them have been reported to authorities here.

However, in California, Google has reported three collisions involving self-driving cars to the DMV since September, when California law began requiring such reports. On May 11, Google reported that its self-driving vehicles have been involved in 11 minor accidents, but “not once” was the autonomous car the cause of the accident.

“Human error is still the primary cause of car accidents,” said Robert Joyce, a Tampa car accident attorney with Joyce & Reyes.

Some criticized Google for not releasing more information on the collisions. Google did not reveal whether there was an increase or decrease in number of accidents per mile over time, nor did it say whether it was ever necessary for the human driver to take over in order to avert an accident. While autonomous cars hold the promise of fewer accidents in the future, the technology is new and many drivers remain uncertain about its safety.

Delphi, a company that manufactures automobile components and has also manufactured self-driving cars, has reported one accident since September to the California DMV. Delphi said that the accident was caused by the driver of the other vehicle involved, and that the autonomous vehicle was not in autonomous mode (nor was it even in motion).

In March, one of Delphi’s cars completed the first ever coast-to-coast trip by driverless car, from San Francisco to New York City. The company said that 99 percent of the trip was completed in autonomous mode. To comply with state laws, a person sat in the driver’s seat for the entire trip, ready to take the wheel if necessary.

Learn more at http://www.joyceandreyespa.com Joyce and Reyes Law Firm, P.A. 307 S Hyde Park Ave Tampa, FL 33606 Call: 813.251.2007