Human Driver Caused Driverless Shuttle Collision

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November 12, 2017

Human error caused a collision between a truck driver and Las Vegas's first self-driving shuttle, authorities have confirmed.

Las Vegas driverless shuttleThe shuttle, owned and operated by the French transporation company Keolis, was on its first day of covering a half-mile loop around downtown Las Vegas. An uneventful two-week pilot test in January convinced the company to go ahead with the live operation.

While in motion, the shuttle's onboard sensors detected the presence of another vehicle and stopped. The other vehicle, a large delivery truck, pulled out into the street from a loading bay; in doing so, the truck grazed the front bumper of the shuttle. 

The truck driver was cited after the collision. Eight people were onboard the shuttle at the time. No one in either vehicle was injured.

Shuttle officials said that they would need a day to complete any needed repairs and diagnostics the collision caused only minor damage to the front bumper. The shuttle returned to operation without further incident.

The shuttle can carry up to 15 people and has a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour.

Navya, also a French company, designed the system and is also testing its technology in London. The electric shuttle is officially called the Navya Arma. The shuttle premiered in 2015. The company has also worked to deploy its autonomous electric vehicles in other countries, in Australia, Japan, and New Zealand and most recently announced the launch of a robo-taxi program.

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