The self-driving cars that Google Inc. has been testing on California's roads and highways were involved in 11 minor accidents over the past six years, according to the tech giant.
The company released the number Monday after The Associated Press reported that Google had notified California of three collisions involving its self-driving cars since September, when reporting all accidents became a legal requirement as part of the permits for the tests on public roads.
"Not once was the self-driving car the cause of the accident," wrote Google's Chris Urmson.
It was not possible to independently verify Google's assertions about the fault and nature of the collisions. The company would not release accident documentation, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles said it could not discuss details, citing confidentiality.
(it seems the California DMV works for Google, not the taxpaying citizens that fund the state of California, and who are put at risk on public transportation roads by Google cars...,WTF?)
The agency has licensed just 48 of these test cars.
Because the cars are required to record and store the last 30 seconds of a data before any accident, reconstructing what happened should be easier, at least.
(So why hasn't the AP Newswire demanded that very data for this story reporting?)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DRIVERLESS_CARS_ACCIDENTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-06-11-02-23-57
