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Apple Self-Driving Car in Manual Mode Involved in Minor Collision That Wasn’t Driver’s Fault on October 15

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One of Apple's Lexus SUVs outfitted with autonomous driving equipment was involved in a minor car accident on October 15 while being driven in manual mode, and the accident in question does not appear to have been the driver's fault.

According to an incident report filed with the DMV, on Monday, October 15, an Apple test vehicle in manual mode was side swiped while turning left in a dual left turn lane onto Stewart Drive from North Wolfe Road, an area in Sunnyvale, California that's close to the Cupertino company's headquarters.

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Both of the vehicles suffered minor damage, but no injuries were reported. The full text of the accident description is below:
On October 15th at 10:28 AM, an Apple test vehicle in manual mode was side swiped while preparing to turn left onto Stewart Drive from North Wolfe Road. The Apple test vehicle was traveling at approximately 5 MPH when a Toyota Camry traveling at approximately 15 MPH crossed out of its lane and contacted the Apple test vehicle. Both vehicles sustained minor damage and no injuries were reported. The police were notified that the driver of the Toyota Camry left without exchanging information.
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This is the second time that one of Apple's test vehicles was involved in a minor traffic accident. Back in August, one of the Lexus SUVs Apple uses to test its software was hit by a Nissan Leaf while attempting to merge in autonomous mode.

Apple, like other companies in California testing self-driving vehicle technology, is required to disclose all autonomous vehicle collisions to the California DMV.

Apple has been testing its self-driving software since early 2017 using Lexus RX450h SUVs outfitted with a host of sensors and cameras. All of the vehicles are piloted by a pair of drivers at all times even when in autonomous driving mode.

We don't yet know what Apple plans to do with its self-driving software, but rumors this year have suggested the company is once again exploring the possibility of a full Apple-branded vehicle that could come out between 2023 and 2025.

Apple is also developing a self-driving shuttle service called "PAIL," or "Palo Alto to Infinite Loop," which is designed to transport Apple employees between the company's offices across Silicon Valley.

Article Link: Apple Self-Driving Car in Manual Mode Involved in Minor Collision That Wasn't Driver's Fault on October 15
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/19/apple-autonomous-car-minor-collision/
Moonlight

Moonlight

macrumors 65816
Jul 9, 2002
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We need self driving cars. They will dramatically lessen auto deaths and injuries and open our clogged roadways again with smart driving. All this story does is play into our fears of computer driving and will make self driving cars harder to populate the road with. We need POSITIVE stories about self driving cars, and statistics on HUMAN accidents and auto deaths.


Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.

This will go WAY DOWN with self driving cars.
 
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pdaholic

pdaholic

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Jun 22, 2011
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Lately I’ve been surprised to see so many of these cars on the road in the bay. A couple of days ago I saw 3 of them driving, all within a block of each other. That’s a lot of miles being accumulated, and it’s not surprising to have a minor accident if they are spending much time on the road in “manual mode.”
 
B

Breaking Good

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Sep 28, 2012
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Moonlight said:
We need self driving cars. They will dramatically lessen auto deaths and injuries and open our clogged roadways again with smart driving. All this story does is play into our fears of computer driving and will make self driving cars harder to populate the road with. We need POSITIVE stories about self driving cars, and statistics on HUMAN accidents and auto deaths.


Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.

This will go WAY DOWN with self driving cars.
Click to expand...

I wish I could triple thumbs up this.

There are going to be risks as we move to autonomous vehicles. These risks shouldn't be dismissed or downplayed. They should be identified, discussed and plans to mitigate them should be put into place.

However, these risks need to be viewed in the larger context of the potential for lives saved and the possibilities of reductions on carbon emissions as driving becomes more efficient and electric vehicles become more practical.

Self driving cars needs to happen and the sooner it happens the better we will be as a society.
 
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TheMadCow

TheMadCow

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Dec 16, 2008
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mspangler49 said:
hmmm... hit a vehicle with like 20 cameras on it and not stop. I wonder if there is video of the other car? Is it okay in California to leave the scene of an accident?
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That was my first thought too. Surely they can pull a still from those cameras? That data has to be recorded, at least for engineering review - unless it's off in manual mode.
 
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Pakaku

Pakaku

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Aug 29, 2009
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BornAgainMac said:
If the story is trying to kill the autonomous car then it isn't working for me.
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Only if the car was actually acting autonomously, and crashed into someone instead of being crashed into, neither of which are the case here.

If the driver was turning left at a red light, well, that's just your everyday (unfortunately) mundane human error.
 
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B

Bin Cook

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Jun 16, 2018
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mspangler49 said:
hmmm... hit a vehicle with like 20 cameras on it and not stop. I wonder if there is video of the other car? Is it okay in California to leave the scene of an accident?
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Be interested in the answer to this. Here in the UK it is a crime but even when you then produce footage, the Police let the law breaker off.
 
duervo

duervo

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Feb 5, 2011
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Bin Cook said:
Be interested in the answer to this. Here in the UK it is a crime but even when you then produce footage, the Police let the law breaker off.
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Usually have to prove that the normal owner/driver of the vehicle was the one that was actually driving it at the time of the incident. Typically hard to prove, as it would need a good view of the driver (decent camera angle,) which is made more challenging by tinted windows. The usual response is some form of traffic fine sent to the registered owner of the vehicle.
 
dannyyankou

dannyyankou

macrumors G5
Mar 2, 2012
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Westchester, NY
Some people will misinterpret this article. When it says it wasn’t the driver’s fault, it DOES NOT mean it was the autonomous car’s fault.

It means that the Apple car was in manual mode with a human operating it, and it wasn’t his fault. Another car sideswiped Apple’s car.
 
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Scottsoapbox

Scottsoapbox

macrumors 65816
Oct 10, 2014
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Moonlight said:
We need self driving cars. They will dramatically lessen auto deaths and injuries and open our clogged roadways again with smart driving. All this story does is play into our fears of computer driving and will make self driving cars harder to populate the road with. We need POSITIVE stories about self driving cars, and statistics on HUMAN accidents and auto deaths.


Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.

This will go WAY DOWN with self driving cars.
Click to expand...

Not true. Most of those deaths come from China and India. Guess who can't afford a car let alone a self driving one? All the insane moped riders going the wrong way, pulling out in front of buses, etc. I mean after you see traffic in a major city in China you would be surprised the death toll is that low. It is stunningly bad driving. Invent a self driving moped -or even a moped with self preservation- if you really want those numbers to drop.
 
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