Autonomous vehicles are often touted as being far safer than humans – at least in theory – but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to making mistakes. One such mishap recently occurred in China, when an unmanned delivery van was filmed dragging an electric scooter. Just a day later, the same manufacturer’s vehicle was involved in a rear-end collision.
Now, before you start picturing a dystopian world where machines run amok, rest assured that the driverless van, developed by Jiushi Intelligent Technology Co., is probably more innocent than it appears.
The first mishap that was caught on camera took place in the city of Xi’an. According to Sina, the electric scooter was lying in the road after an earlier accident. The autonomous van, attempting to navigate around the debris, ended up snagging part of the scooter on its wheels.
The driverless van reportedly dragged the scooter for a distance before stopping. Interestingly, the video shows that the vehicle kept going straight, even with one of its wheels being jammed. After watching the footage, we can’t help but wonder what would have happened if a person or an animal had being dragged instead.
The company claims this was the first time such an incident occurred. In response, they’ve vowed to improve the algorithm so their fleet can better handle weirdly-shaped obstacles on the road.
The second incident unfolded the very next day, April 9, when the same company’s van rear-ended a Lynk&Co 08 SUV. According to the company, the van was in manual mode at the time, being remotely controlled with its autonomous functions disabled. So, why did the operator decide to drive the van into the back of a parked car? We may never know. Thankfully, the collision occurred at a low speed, and no one was injured.
The driverless van, which was introduced in 2024, is touted as “the most advanced autonomous driving logistics vehicle in the world.” With no cockpit, it relies entirely on cameras and sensors to navigate urban environments. Let’s hope the company learns from these incidents and takes the necessary steps to avoid future mishaps.