The truck hit the unmanned bus in the very first hour of its work on the streets of Las Vegas

To bring unmanned vehicles on public roads will not be as easy as it seems. Given the unpredictable, chaotic behavior of human drivers, who are currently in the majority.

Las Vegas became the first city in the United States, where an unmanned bus dared to run on a regular route. Less than an hour, as a robokar collided with a delivery truck, reports the local TV channel KSNV. As a result of the accident, no one was hurt.

The launch of the eight-seat drone on a circular route in the center of Las Vegas was held with great fanfare: the event gathered dozens of journalists and curious. According to the plan, the bus should demonstrate the advantages of the unmanned technology and transport up to 250,000 passengers per year, and free of charge (moreover, the sponsor of the AAA project promised to transfer one dollar per charity to the charity). You can get on the bus or get out of it at one of three stops along the route.
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Unmanned buses developed by the French company Navya (the same are being tested in London ). They can accommodate up to 15 people and reach speeds of up to 45 km / h, but usually move at a speed of no more than 25 km / h.

The autopilot provides for an immediate stop if an obstacle arises along the way or another car intersects with its path. This property of the autopilot was tested in practice at the time of the accident on November 8, 2017, which was caused by a human driver.

Representatives of the city administration issued the following statement:

“During today's testing of an autonomous bus in the city center, he touched a delivery service truck. The bus performed the intended actions: when the sensors fixed the truck, it stopped to prevent an accident. Unfortunately, the delivery truck did not stop and touched the front wing of the shuttle. If the truck had been installed the same equipment with sensors, as on the shuttle, then the accident would have been avoided. The bus trials will continue during the 12-month pilot program in the city's Innovation District. ”

The incident occurred literally the next day after Waymo (Alphabet) announced the start of testing unmanned taxis in Phoenix.

Unmanned vehicles are not the first time in an accident, and almost all the incidents occur due to the fault of drivers-people. The exception is the case of the Tesla Model S autopilot in 2016, which led to the death of a person. In this case, the investigation revealed that the computer pilot system autopilot system was partially the cause. As a result, Tesla companies were instructed to more clearly instruct drivers about the limitations of their technology.

Despite these incidents, auto industry experts agree that unmanned vehicles are still capable of making roads a much safer place .