Google autonomous car crashes

Another crash has been recorded in the USA involving an autonomous car, this time a Chrysler Pacifica people mover operated by Google's self-driving car company, Waymo.

The crash occurred in Chanlder, Arizona, where Waymo has been testing autonomous vehicles with no driver behind the wheel since October 2017.

According to police reports, the Waymo vehicle was struck by a Honda sedan that ran a red light then swerved to avoid another car before colliding with the autonomous vehicle.

Police said the Waymo autonomous vehicle, which was driving autonomously, did not break any road rules. The Honda driver has been charged for running a red light.

"The vehicle was at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Chandler Police Department's spokesman, Seth Tyler.

"Waymo and the driver of the vehicle won't get cited for anything because she didn't do anything wrong."

The female Waymo vehicle occupant suffered minor injuries but the incident comes less than two months after an Uber autonomous test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian, sparking calls for tighter regulations on self-driving cars in the US.

If the same collision occurred between two human drivers it wouldn't rate a mention but as the social microscope continues to hover over autonomous vehicles, every event is closely scrutinised.

Waymo released a statement after the incident.

"Our team’s mission is to make our roads safer – it is at the core of everything we do and motivates every member of our team," said the Google-owned company.

Earlier this year, Waymo confirmed that its autonomous vehicles have covered more than 8 million kilometres, or 5 million miles, since the program hit the road in 2009. In that time, around 30 minor crashes have been reported by Waymo. It claims only one crash was caused by an autonomous vehicle, which happened in 2016.

Waymo plans to launch a driverless cab service this year in the USA and if successful could be rolled out across other countries in due course, including Australia.

Victoria and South Australia currently allow state-wide trials and testing of autonomous vehicles. Thus far, 303 deaths have been recorded in Australia in 2018, which is 17 per cent higher (44 more deaths) than the same period in 2017.

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