Baidu Apollo Go system malfunction stops robotaxis in Wuhan
A system malfunction caused at least 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis to stop mid-traffic in Wuhan on Tuesday, reportedly resulting in a highway collision. Police said no injuries were reported and the cause remains under investigation.
What happened
At least a hundred Apollo Go self-driving cars stopped mid-traffic in Wuhan on Tuesday. Local police said initial findings suggested a 'system malfunction' caused multiple vehicles to stop in the middle of the road.
Videos on social media documented the outage, with one appearing to show it resulting in a highway collision.
Reported impact
Police said no injuries had been reported and passengers exited their vehicles safely.
Index analysis
According to the police statement posted on social media site Weibo, the cause of the incident is still under further investigation. Jack Stilgoe, professor of science and technology policy at University College London, said while driverless technology 'may be safer on average' than human drivers, this incident showed it could 'still go wrong in completely new ways'.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.