What Google, Uber, and Other Companies Don’t Want to Tell You About Car Accidents
Google recently rebranded Waymo, their driverless car company, and placed self-driving cars in the spotlight even more than before. But at the same time, the company also removed its monthly reports from the website. These reports detailed all of their car accident information for the public to see.
Here’s why that matters and how it might affect your car accident case.
Why Report on Car Accident Information?
Since June 2015, Google offered this car accident information for free on their site as a resource for people concerned about the number of collisions caused by driverless vehicles.
The reports mostly discuss fender benders and other small collisions, so they don’t usually reflect any extremely serious accidents. If a serious accident does occur, it usually makes national news, so the public can read about it no matter what.
But some of the collisions reflect problems with the technology that we otherwise might ignore:
- an incident where a self-driving car crashed into the side of a public bus because it thought the bus would slow down
- police stops over the cars driving too slow
- the ability and inability to recognize emergency sirens correctly
The companies can and probably will correct these problems as they arise. But the public also has a right to know what’s happening on the roads we all share. Transparency would probably help the public’s trust of this new technology and its development.
How Car Accident Information Is Changing
Car-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft and driverless car companies don’t have a lot of excuses for hiding basic information about car accidents when they happen.
Technology now allows companies to monitor drivers using GPS and data readers similar to the “black box” you’d find in a plane. So when accidents do occur, it’s possible to know exactly what happened to the car.
This information can help in a car accident case and provide the public with a way to hold companies accountable.
It makes sense companies wouldn’t want to release all of this information to the public – and by law, they don’t have to. It’s all voluntary. But whatever information they do report can make a huge difference in the way people view the company.
A Car Accident Lawyer for New Technology
For any of these new technologies, including ride-sharing and driverless cars, the law changes constantly and varies from state to state. As an additional challenge, the companies behind these products are some of the biggest in the world. You definitely don’t want to face them alone.
Our Memphis car accident lawyers take into account all the local and state laws to make your case a success. We can also get access to the important information I discussed above. That way you have every possible tool to get the compensation you need and deserve.
If you’ve been in a car accident, don’t wait to get started. Contact us today.