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Self-Driving Bus Crashes on its First Day in Las Vegas

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
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By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 8, 2017, 7:57 PM ET

A big public debut for a self-driving bus in Las Vegas turned out to be trouble.

An autonomous shuttle bus collided with a semi-truck just a few hours after Las Vegas city officials held a ceremony to celebrate its first day as part of a larger city-wide test.

There were no injuries reported, and the shuttle didn’t suffer any major damage, according to a report by a local Fox news station.

Las Vegas city officials said in blog post that the self-driving shuttle, built by the French automobile company Navya, was not at fault. Although a delivery truck “grazed” the shuttle, the post said, the ”shuttle did what it was supposed to do, in that its sensors registered the truck and the shuttle stopped to avoid the accident.”

“Unfortunately the delivery truck did not stop and grazed the front fender of the shuttle,” the officials wrote. “Had the truck had the same sensing equipment that the shuttle has the accident would have been avoided.”

The autonomous shuttle was testing today when it was grazed by a delivery truck in #dtlv. Details: https://t.co/XCffVadxcypic.twitter.com/Rz6P0hu0N7

— City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) November 8, 2017

Truck hit shuttle while shuttle was stopped. No major damage and no one hurt. @FOX5Vegaspic.twitter.com/RazYV4U6lN

— Kathleen Jacob (@Kathleenjjacob) November 8, 2017

The shuttle, called Arma, can carry up to 12 passengers. It is built without a steering wheel or brake pedals for human drivers, according to the Fox report.

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The accident occurred on the first day of the Arma shuttle’s 12-month long test in downtown Las Vegas over a half-mile route near the city’s strip. Las Vegas city officials said that the city would continue to test the shuttle despite the accident. The delivery truck driver was given a citation, the officials added.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
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Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

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