Nov. 9 (UPI) — It didn’t take long for a new self-driving shuttle van in Las Vegas to get into an accident — but the driver of the other vehicle gets the blame, police said.
The 11-passenger autonomous shuttle van made by French company Navya entered service in Las Vegas Wednesday, traveling a half-mile route.
City officials said a delivery truck backed into the van while both were on a downtown street, causing minor damage to the driverless shuttle. The van came to a stop when it sensed that the truck was closing in on it.
The driver of the delivery truck was cited by police for illegal backing.
The electric-powered van, sponsored by Keolis Transit America and the Nevada AAA, began a 12-month pilot program on Wednesday.
“The shuttle did what it was supposed to do, in that its sensors registered the truck and the shuttle stopped to avoid the accident,” a comment on the city’s blog said. “Unfortunately the delivery truck did not stop and grazed the front fender of the shuttle.
“Had the truck had the same sensing equipment that the shuttle has the accident would have been avoided.”
Navya is among several companies that are testing autonomous vehicles in cities around the world. Wednesday, Uber announced it is working with NASA to create an air traffic control network for self-flying taxis it expects to be operational by 2020.
