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Google Self-Driving Car Involved in Another Crash

The Google car was, indeed, driving autonomously at the time of the crash, but was not at fault.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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A Google self-driving Lexus was involved in a crash in Mountain View, Calif. on Friday afternoon. Fortunately, no one was injured.

According to a report from local TV station KRON, the Google car was, indeed, driving autonomously at the time of the crash, but was not at fault. The incident happened at around 1:30 p.m. near El Camino Real and Phyllis Avenue, when another vehicle ran a red light and hit the passenger side of Google's car.

Google did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment but confirmed the incident to TechCrunch. "A Google vehicle was traveling northbound on Phyllis Ave. in Mountain View when a car heading westbound on El Camino Real ran a red light and collided with the right side of our vehicle," the statement reads. "Our light was green for at least six seconds before our car entered the intersection."

The tech giant also used this opportunity to remind everyone why it's developing self-driving cars.

"Thousands of crashes happen everyday on US roads, and red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes in the US. Human error plays a role in 94 percent of these crashes, which is why we're developing fully self-driving technology to make our roads safer," Google said.

According to KRON, a human was behind the wheel of Google's car at the time of the incident. The Google vehicle (and presumably the human behind the wheel) sensed the other car crossing the intersection, at which point the human took over and applied the brakes, but the crash was unavoidable.

Images captured by bystanders show that the Google car with a huge dent on the passenger side, as you can see above.

The incident comes after a Google self-driving Lexus in February struck the side of a passing bus. That time, the Google car was at least partially responsible for the collision.

[Image: Ron van Zuylen]

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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