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Google shares more details on self-driving car accidents

Google has pledged to release monthly reports on the status of its self-driving car program, and says these updates will include information on accidents involving the vehicles. But the company won't release the actual accident reports, a sore point for activists who recently have clamored for the company to be more transparent in the way it tests this promising technology on public roads. "Google is dribbling out bits of information in the hope to silence legitimate calls for full transparency," said John Simpson, privacy director for Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit that has asked Google to release reports from the 12 accidents the company says it has been involved in over the past six years. "They are testing on public roads, and the public has a right to know exactly what happened when something goes wrong." Under California law, the accident reports are not considered public records. Google has attributed all accidents to human error, and says drivers of the other cars involved caused 11 of the 12 accidents. In eight of those, the Google cars were rear-ended, and the autonomous vehicles were sideswiped in two other crashes. One of the accidents occurred at an intersection when a human driver failed to yield at a stop sign, and in one incident, a Google driver accidentally rear-ended another car while manually driving. Google had previously provided those details. The first monthly report installment sheds new light on which types of self-driving vehicles were involved, directions of travel, locations, and whether the cars were operating in autonomous or manual mode. Update: Google says this information comes directly from the OL 316 forms used to report accidents involving autonomous cars in California, though it has "edited the summaries lightly to protect other drivers' information." But Google still will not release the original OL 316 forms, nor the "traffic collision report" forms used in California to report accidents. Another company that has been involved in a single self-driving car accident, Delphi Automotive, has released this information, which verified its car was not at fault. Regarding Google, Simpson said, "We now know a few more details of what happened. The problem is that it's Google's version and they want us to take their word for it." The Google self-report adds information that goes beyond accidents, with further details on the company's overall program.

2016 Civic, Sonata, Lexus RX, and Altima earn TSP+ from IIHS [w/videos]

The 2016 Honda Civic sedan, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX, and Nissan Altima started the year with a bang by earning Top Safety Pick+ honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They join 48 other 2016 model year vehicles that IIHS already tested that received the agency's top safety marks. These four models met the IIHS' latest requirement, scoring the agency's best possible score in all five of its crash tests – front, side, rear, rollover, and the difficult small-overlap – to be eligible for the safety accolade. Hyundai improved the 2016 Sonata's structure after the sedan's production began, so this rating only applied to examples produced after October. To get the TSP+ honor, a vehicle's crash prevention tech needs to earn least two points on the IIHS' scale. The lower Top Safety Pick designation can go to model with a "basic" version of these systems like a front collision warning. The Civic, Sonata, and RX scored the maximum six points to get "superior" scores for their optional crash prevention tech because they avoided collisions at up to 25 miles per hour. The Altima was successful in a 12-mph test, but the system slowed the sedan by 10 mph in the 25-mph test rather than completely stopping it. Therefore, the agency awarded the Nissan five points, which was still a "superior" score. You can watch the small-overlap tests for the Civic, RX, Altima, and Sonata respectively below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Four more vehicles earn the 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award ARLINGTON, Va. — The Honda Civic 4-door, Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RX and Nissan Altima are the latest vehicles to earn the top award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The four vehicles join the 2016 winner's circle just one month after the initial crop of 48 TOP SAFETY PICK+ winners was announced. The requirements for TOP SAFETY PICK+ were tightened for 2016. To qualify, winners must earn good ratings in each of the Institute's five crashworthiness tests and have an available front crash prevention system earning an advanced or superior rating.

Lexus UX Concept represents a bold crossover future

This is the Lexus UX Concept. You can call it the Ucks, because that's what we're doing. And oh yeah, it's really weird. The UX is a concept in its truest form, from the bizarre wheel/tire combo to the "inside-out" design concept, the latter which reminds of Wonko the Sane from So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. Designed by Lexus' studio in southern France, we aren't even really sure how to describe the design features of the UX. The sharp and angular exterior bleeds in and out of equally strange cabin seamlessly. But more than the body's creases and cuts, it's the general shape of the UX that's most interesting – this is a compact crossover, but it looks more like a jacked-up shooting brake than a typical two-box CUV. The rear doors seemingly bleed into the aggressively raked C-pillar, while the long hood give the UX a more sporting character than most cars in this segment. At the same time, Lexus went out of its way to deemphasize the UX's sporty traits – square, off-road-like wheel arches contrast the strong front fenders that bulge up and above the hood, for example. The fact that designers painted these arches silver to contrast with the lovely amethyst paint gives them an even greater visual weight. Lexus says the overall idea for the silver accents – the wheel arches, mirrors, and roof rails – "represent a form of continuous yet interrupted bone structure." Whatever you say, guys. But the wheels and tires represent the strangest visual detail. The 21-inch wheels actually extend into the tires. Lexus says it used laser carving to cut into the tire sidewalls, and then integrated the wheel spokes into rubber. The visual effect reminds us of those weird airless tires that pop up every few years. The interior, meanwhile, implements Lexus' Kinetic Seat Concept for the first time. Believe it or not, the futuristic seats are the most insignificant part of the cabin. See, UX, in tech circles, is short for user experience. With a name like that, we expect big changes to the driving experience, and that's what Lexus delivers – from the swooping, overlapping dash that creates a real sense of depth from the driver's seat to the three-dimensional effect of the cabin's three displays, the cabin is a fascinating place. Of all the "deconstructed" styling elements Lexus implemented on the UX, we like the design of the dash the most.