Uber may have had a bad week with the news one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a very serious collision, but General Motors and Cruise Automation still hold a squeaky clean record for their technology.
However, a GM Cruise autonomous Bolt EV was involved in a traffic accident in San Francisco, according to the California DMV’s records. Per the agency’s report, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV was in autonomous mode when it slowed at an intersection controlled by a flashing yellow, allowing pedestrians the right of way. The Bolt EV paused appropriately as a Toyota Highlander stopped behind the Bolt.
As the autonomous Bolt EV was pulling away, a third vehicle, a Subaru, failed to stop and ultimately rear-ended the Highlander which pushed it into the Bolt EV. The airbags did deploy in the Toyota, though.
The DMV report goes on to state no occupants reported injuries at the scene of the collision.
So far, we’ve been pretty awe-struck by how well Cruise’s Bolt EV prototypes handle busy San Francisco streets from the video footage the company has provided. However, drivers like the one in the Subaru sure are making the case for autonomous cars…
Comments
That Subaru driver should pay for the Bolt’s damages, then have the Subaru tailpipe shoved up its driver’s tailpipe and the gas engine started!!
Assuming we’re talking about the February 16, 2017, incident — perhaps an updated report was submitted since this blog post was made, but GM Cruise’s narrative describes the Subaru driver as suffering an injury:
> None of-the occupants of the Cruise AVO< Toyota-reported injuries-at the scene, and the driver of the Subaru intended to seek medical evaluation for knee pain from the collision.
Also, the narrative doesn’t mention that the Bolt stopped for pedestrians. It only mentioned that the crosswalk’s yellow lights had activated, and presumably that’s what caused the Bolt — correctly, in a legal sense — to stop at the crosswalk.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/a549dbc4-a164-4813-bc72-3164261fc89a/GMCruise_021617.pdf?MOD=AJPERES