--- description: There are plenty of caveats though title: Self-Driving Cars Get Into More Accidents, Study Finds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1816fcf68ef0ba40/6988697f2dce011d899e6258/gadgets-top-10-201501.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Self-Driving Cars Are More Accident-Prone, Study Finds by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 3, 2015 4:58 PM CUT  MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - FEBRUARY 02: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (R) and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt (L) ride in a Google self-driving car at the Google headquarters on February 2, 2015 in Mountain View, California. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined Google Chairman Eric Schmidt for a fireside chat where he unveiled Beyond Traffic, a new analysis from the U.S. Department of Transportation that anticipates the trends and choices facing our transportation system over the next three decades. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - FEBRUARY 02: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (R) and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt (L) ride in a Google self-driving car at the Google headquarters on February 2, 2015 in Mountain View, California. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined Google Chairman Eric Schmidt for a fireside chat where he unveiled Beyond Traffic, a new analysis from the U.S. Department of Transportation that anticipates the trends and choices facing our transportation system over the next three decades. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 3, 2015 4:58 PM CUT Self-driving cars are getting into accidents at a higher rate than cars driven by humans, according to a new study. However, the new research comes with a laundry list of caveats that indicates that transportation experts are still struggling to ascertain just how safe self-driving cars actually are. The [study](http://www.umich.edu/~umtriswt/PDF/UMTRI-2015-34%5FAbstract%5FEnglish.pdf "undefined"), by researchers Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, found that self-driving cars are in accidents at five times the rate of human-controlled cars. However, people often don’t report minor accidents to police. When controlling for that fact, self-driving cars are still twice as likely to get into accidents as regular cars. The study aggregated data from the self-driving cars being operated by Google, Delphi and Volkswagen. Their vehicles have logged 1.2 million miles traveled, compared to the trillions of annual miles logged by regular cars, according to the study. With a larger data set, it’s possible that the accident rate could be substantially higher or lower. Still, the data illustrates some early trends. Most of the self-driving vehicles involved in accidents were hit in the rear when they were traveling 5 miles per hour or slower. None were involved in very serious accidents, such as head-on collisions. Google has repeatedly said that the accidents its self-driving cars have been involved in were the result of human error. But self-driving cars’ inability to [bend or break traffic laws](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/technology/personaltech/google-says-its-not-the-driverless-cars-fault-its-other-drivers.html "undefined"), as human drivers regularly do, could make their driving habits surprising to others on the road, leading to crashes. ### The 10 Most Ambitious Google Projects  Google Driverless Car The Google Self-Driving Car has been in the works since 2005 after a team of engineers won a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to design an autonomous car. The project, which aims to reduce traffic accidents, has made headway in recent years as states passed laws permitting self-driving cars. Google plans a commercial release between 2017 and 2020. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Google has been testing balloons which sail into the stratosphere and beam Internet down to Earth. Jon Shenk—AP  Google's smart contact lenses. Google/AP  Google Lively Google Lively was a web-based virtual community space where users could design avatars, chat with one another and personalize their online hangout space. The project was discontinued after a six-month stint in 2008 after limited success. Google/AP  Google Earth Google's virtual map of the Earth allows users to tour the earth with 3-D satellite images. The project, which dates back to 2004, has already found significant applications in disaster relief. Google/AP  Project Ara Google's build-your-own-smartphone project allows users to customize their handsets to their own preferences, with the possibility of eliminating electronic waste by encouraging users to add hardware updates on their own terms. The team is working towards a limited market pilot in 2015. Bryan Bedder—Getty Images for Engadget Expand  Disease Detecting Pill Google unveiled its plans to disease-detecting ingestible pill in October, a project that'll let patients access their real-time health data to encourage preventative care. The pill will contain nanoparticles that can bind to certain cells and chemicals, with the possibility of detecting diseases like cancer in early stages. Getty Images  Flying Wind Turbines The flying windmill is the project of Makani Power, a wind turbine developer acquired by Google in 2013\. The tethered airborne turbines will harness wind energy for the goal of producing low-cost, renewable energy Andrea Dunlap—Makani Power/AP  Google+ Google's social networking platform launched in 2011, the most successful service after several flops at designing a Facebook competitor, like the now-retired Google Buzz. Today, Google+ boasts over half a billion monthly active users. Stephen Lam—Reuters  Google Books Google Books dates back to 2004, when Google partnered with libraries and universities to plan to digitize millions of volumes over the next several years. The project aims to make searching books as easy as searching the web. 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