Driverless Bus Hit by Semi
I’m Ed Smith, an Autonomous Vehicle Accident Lawyer in Sacramento. Within two hours of its Las Vegas debut on November 8, the nation’s first self-driving bus was involved in a minor collision with a semi-truck. According to police, the truck driver was at fault.
The First Public Self-Driving Bus
Designed by the French company Navya and sponsored by AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah, the driverless shuttle bus is scheduled to service three stops along a 0.6 mile loop in Las Vegas’s Innovation District. The bus was initially tested on the same route in January, with the current expanded pilot program slated to run through next November. The bus can carry up to 12 passengers, travel at 15mph on electric power, and will be attended to by an operator; although there is no steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal. Navya driverless shuttles are also being operated in France, Singapore, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Collision with Semi-Truck
According to Las Vegas Police, the semi-truck’s driver was issued a ticket for illegal backing. Sensors on the shuttle identified the approaching obstacle and applied the shuttle’s brakes to avoid the collision. The truck however continued to back up and struck the driverless shuttle. Ironically, the minor crash -resulting in no injuries to the occupants and only a grazed front fender on the bus- might have been avoided had the offending semi-truck been equipped with similar automated features. The truck had apparently been attempting to maneuver into a nearby alley.
Federal Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into the incident to better understand how autonomous vehicles will impact human drivers on the roadways. The federal agency released a detailed report on the fatal 2016 crash involving a Tesla operating in semi-autonomous “Autopilot mode.” Engineers from Navya have already reviewed data recorded by the bus’s computers recorded during the incident and cleared the vehicle to resume operations.
On the Road Again
Within a day of the low speed collision the shuttle was back on the road servicing its route. While this incident did not result in any injuries or major property damage, safety concerns regarding self-driving vehicles are becoming increasingly pressing issues and gaining national attention. As autonomous vehicle technology develops and becomes more integrated into our transportation systems, we hope that analysis of this fender bender in Las Vegas will lead to safer roads in a future of driverless cars.
Related Articles by Autonomous Vehicle Accident Lawyer, Ed Smith:
- Self-Driving Cars Coming to Sacramento
- Tesla Makes Plans to Test New Autonomous Semi
- Luxury Electric Vehicle Crash Safety Ratings
Autonomous Vehicle Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an Autonomous Vehicle Accident Lawyer in Sacramento. Have you or someone you love been injured in an accident involving an autonomous or semiautonomous vehicle? Please contact me right away at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice with no obligation. I can also be reached online at AutoAccident.com.
Since 1982, I have been serving my community helping people injured in accidents and their families recover. See some of my valued client reviews on: Yelp, Google, and Avvo.
My work as an injury lawyer has earned recognition with the Million Dollar Advocates, acknowledging the settlements and verdicts that I have secured for my clients worth in excess of one million dollars.
You can review summaries of some of my past Verdicts and Settlements posted on my website, AutoAccident.com.
