Within its first hours of operation Wednesday, an autonomous shuttle bus that is part of a ballyhooed study of driverless vehicles on public roads in Las Vegas was involved in a collision with a truck. No injuries were reported in the midafternoon crash, described by one organizer of the project as a ?fender bender.?
Details are still emerging. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not return requests for comment Wednesday and has not yet issued a crash report.
A spokesperson for AAA, which is a sponsor of the planned yearlong study, said the shuttle stopped as it sensed the truck ahead and remained stationary when the truck backed into the left-front side of the shuttle, which carried multiple passengers.
?The shuttle came to a complete stop,? John Moreno, manager of AAA?s Northern California, Nevada, and Utah office, told Car and Driver. ?Unfortunately, the truck did not, and it hit the shuttle. If only the truck had the autonomous technology, this would likely not have occurred.” Moreno said responding officers issued a citation to the driver of the truck. Built by French manufacturer Navya, the shuttle has already been utilized in pilot projects in Europe and carried members of the public there. It has no traditional vehicle controls such as a steering wheel or brake pedal. In Las Vegas, a human safety steward was aboard the shuttle and can stop operations with the push of an emergency button.

Passengers step onto a Navya Arma autonomous electric shu...