Self-Driving Cars Are Getting Attacked By Humans
Basic logic might lead you to believe that malfunctions with self-driving cars would be caused by programing errors or faulty software. But, an unusual percentage of "crashes" with self-driving cars in California were actually caused by humans.
And when we say caused by humans, we mean humans literally attacked two autonomous cars.
San Francisco saw two attacks on self-driving cars in January, according to recent reports from the city's DMV. The first incident occurred on January 2 when a man in the Mission District struck a General Motors Cruise AV test car. According to the DMV's incident report, the car's human driver (who's there for safety reasons) was driving in autonomous mode when a pedestrian "ran across Valencia Street against the 'do not walk' sign, shouted, and struck the left side of the car's rear bumper and hatch with his entire body."
Now another incident from January is being reported that occurred in the Mission Dolores neighborhood. The perpetrator this time? A taxi driver — maybe worried about the impending doom that autonomous cars could bring to the cab industry.
The DMV report showed that it was actually the same type of vehicle as the one that was attacked earlier in the month. The report described the incident as follows:
"A Cruise autonomous vehicle ("Cruise AV"), operating in manual mode, was stopped behind a taxi on Duboce Avenue just past Guerrero. The driver of the taxi exited his vehicle, approached the Cruise AV, and slapped the front passenger window, causing a scratch. There were no injuries and police were not called."
The DMV requires that any sort of crash, no matter how minor, must be reported. In 2018, seven "crashes" have been documented, and two of those were humans attacking the cars, a third and forth were caused by human error when the cars were being operated in manual mode. Meaning that 57% of crashes this year were actually caused by humans.
Starting in April, California will allow self-driving cars to cruise the streets without a human backup behind the wheel. Twenty-seven accident reports were filed in 2017.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.