Google’s Self-Driving Car Involved in First Injury Accident – Caused by Human Error

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on August 7, 2015

Google’s self-driving cars have been cruising roads in California and other states for several months, gathering data to help the company fine-tune the technology. So far, Google has reported the vehicles have been involved in fourteen accidents, each of which caused by a distracted human driver in another vehicle.

Recently, according to the Seattle Times, Google reported the first self-driving car accident that resulted in injuries. Once again, a distracted human driver was at fault.

The injury crash occurred in Mountain View, California, when a human-driven vehicle rear-ended the Google self-driving car. Three Google employees were in the self-driving car at the time, gathering data. All three had symptoms of whiplash and were checked out at a local hospital, according to the Seattle Times. The driver of the car that rear-ended the Google vehicle also reported suffering neck and back pain as a result of the crash.

Google vehicles were rear-ended in 11 of the 14 crashes reported so far. These accidents have happened over six years and more than 1.9 million self-driving vehicle miles, according to the company. Because the vehicles are equipped with sensors and cameras, they’ve gathered a great deal of information related to each crash, which the company says will be useful in learning more about the habits of distracted drivers just before a collision.

Distracted driving can cause serious injuries. If you’ve been injured by a distracted driver, the experienced Seattle car accident lawyers at Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. can help. Contact us today to learn more.