Apple Cars involved in several collisions

Two of Apple’s autopilot cars operating in manual mode were involved in minor collisions in August.

As Apple continues to test its autonomous driving software, the California DMV is reporting several collisions involving self-driving cars from the Apple brand.

The first incident happened in San Diego, Calif. In the Hillcrest neighborhood on August 19. The Lexus RX 450h was stopped in traffic and was struck by a Hyundai. The accident was described as minor and left no injuries. The second accident happened on August 23 in Cupertino, California, near the Apple Park campus. The vehicle equipped with Apple’s autonomous driving system was in manual mode and stopped in traffic when it was hit by a Subaru Outback.

These two incidents are not attributable to the autopilot or the person driving it, and are therefore not significant. What’s interesting, however, is that Apple’s vehicles have been involved in two crashes in the same month while no accidents since September 2019 have been reported.

Earlier this year, disengagement and mileage reports from the California DMV suggested that Apple’s Lexus SUVs with autonomous driving software covered at least 30,000 km in 2020, which is a big increase. compared to previous years. Apple may have stepped up testing in 2021, which has led to a higher number of incidents.

Apple has been testing its autonomous driving software since early 2017, using Lexus RX 450h vehicles, equipped with sensors and cameras. Work on autonomous driving is part of Apple’s long-standing car project, and rumors suggest that Apple plans to release a vehicle in the mid to late 2020s.

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