Car crash becomes national news because a Waymo minivan was involved

Two moving cars collided in Arizona on Friday. If one of them hadn’t been fitted with Waymo self-driving tech, no one would have noticed.

The crash occurred in Chandler, Ariz. when a Honda sedan swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid another accident. It then struck the Waymo van, which the company claims was operating in manual mode — which means the human behind the wheel was in charge — at the time.

A video captured from the van’s own camera and released by Waymo shows the 5-second period leading up to the crash.

The sequence of events seen in this short clip are pretty clear. The Honda swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle in the intersection and seemed to momentarily lose control as it crossed the median. Waymo’s van, traveling in the center lane on the opposite side of the street, appears to have been a victim of circumstance. Read more…

More about Tech, Transportation, Crash, Waymo, and Tech