Self-driving cars have been touted as being nearly auto accident proof, but there have been recent reports of crashes involving the advanced vehicles. A recent accident in Mountain View, California, involving a Google self-driving car prototype led to its first case of reported injuries.

According to reports, three Google employees were on board testing the automobile when they were rear-ended by another vehicle. The three Google employees and the driver of the other car complained of minor whiplash-related injuries. Google has allegedly claimed that the other driver caused the auto accident.

Self-driving cars use an array of cameras, sensors and computers to drive passengers to destinations without human control. In the last six years of testing Google self-driving cars, there have been 14 auto accidents.

While Google claims humans and not its vehicles caused these accidents, it might show vulnerabilities with self-driving cars. Unless everyone on the road has a self-driving car, collisions may still be a possibility. Depending on how advanced the self-driving vehicles become at avoiding collisions caused by other drivers, it is reasonable to assume more auto accidents are possible.

Are Cars That Communicate With Each Other Auto Accident Proof?

Last year, The New York Times wrote an article about the future of vehicle safety involving heavy reliance on automobiles communicating with each other. The U.S. Department of Transportation wants to make this feature a requirement on all vehicles.

Federal transportation officials believe vehicle-to-vehicle communication will become the ultimate anti-collision system. Combined with self-driving vehicles, collision rates could go down in the near future.

For regular updates on our blog, please follow Metier Law Firm on Facebook.

Metier Law Firm – Injury Attorneys Serving Clients Nationwide