LOS ANGELES — A self-driving car being tested by Google struck a public bus on a city street, a fender-bender that appears to be the first time one of the tech company’s vehicles caused an accident.
The collision occurred on Valentine’s Day and Google reported it to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles in an accident report that the agency posted Monday.
The car was rolling at 2 mph and the bus at 15 mph. No one was injured.
The report does not address fault. However, Google wrote that its car was trying to get around some sandbags on a street in Mountain View, California, when its left front struck the right side of the bus.
The car’s test driver - who under state law must be in the front seat to grab the wheel when needed - thought the bus would yield and did not have control when the collision happened, according to Google’s report.
If it’s determined the Google vehicle was at fault it would be the first time one of its SUVS caused an accident while in autonomous mode.
DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said the agency hoped to speak with Google on Monday about what went wrong.
A Google spokesman did not have immediate comment.
Google has been testing two dozen Lexus SUVs outfitted with sensors and cameras near the tech firm’s Silicon Valley headquarters.
Google cars have been involved in more than a dozen collisions. In most cases, Google’s cars were rear-ended. No one has been seriously injured.
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