Google's self-driving sports utility vehicle has been taking a beating: it's been involved in three crashes caused by humans in the last month. The most recent was caused when a driver of a van ran a red light and struck the passenger side of the Lexus RX 450 SUV, leaving the doors banged up. The vehicle was operating in autonomous mode when the accident occurred, with a human driver inside, as is required by the company. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the accident.
Google's driverless cars have been involved in a number of accidents throughout nearly seven years of testing, but those numbers dwindle in comparison to the stats showing human-caused road accidents and deaths. Nearly every previous incident with the self-driving cars have been caused by a human driver--its first at-fault incident occurred early this year when the Lexus hit the side of a bus. Google continues to mention the point that 94 percent of urban car accidents like this are the result of human error, and that the whole point of its self-driving tech is to make the roads safer. After all, the technology is driven by the ultimate goal of making mass transit safe, accident-free, and accessible to all.
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