Investigation Reveals Causes Behind Autonomous Vehicle Collision in Punggol

SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on January 29 that the recent incident involving an autonomous vehicle (AV) colliding with a road divider along Edgedale Plains in Punggol was due to manual intervention from an on-board safety officer.

Incident Details

Following a thorough review of the event in collaboration with ComfortDelGro (CDG), the LTA confirmed that the AV had detected an object off the road and had initiated a lane change as a safety precaution. However, noticing that the vehicle was maneuvering into a different lane without an evident cause, the safety officer intervened to regain control. This action caused the AV to exit its autonomous mode.

The LTA noted, “Unfortunately, the safety officer was not able to complete the maneuver in time, which led to the vehicle striking the road divider.” The review revealed that, had there been no manual interference, the AV likely would have successfully completed the maneuver and returned to its planned route.

Review Findings

The investigation carried out by the LTA and CDG included an examination of the operational procedures regarding the transition between autonomous and manual driving. It also assessed the appropriate moments for safety officers to intervene in an AV’s operations to guarantee the safety of all road users.

LTA emphasized the significance of the familiarization phase, during which the AV acclimates to local road conditions, and fleet operators along with safety officers become accustomed to the behavior of AVs, particularly in scenarios where there are no passengers present.

Resumption of Operations

In light of these findings, the LTA has decided to lift the safety timeout previously enforced on CDG’s self-driving vehicles in Punggol, allowing CDG to resume autonomous operations starting Friday.

Conclusion

This incident underscores the complexities of autonomous driving technology and the critical role of safety protocols. Improving these systems will be essential as AV technology continues to develop.