California DMV Agrees To Release Accident Reports for Driverless Cars
The California Department of Motor Vehicles said it will release accident reports for crashes involving self-driving cars being tested on public roads, after requests from consumer advocacy groups (see 1505120034">1505120034), a Consumer Watchdog news release said Thursday. “DMV initially declined…
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to release these reports based on Vehicle Code provisions that require accident reports concerning traffic injuries or fatalities to remain confidential,” said DMV Senior Staff Counsel Roger Sato. “After further review, DMV has determined that it is possible to release the factual information related to the autonomous vehicle reports, so long as the personal information of the drivers involved in the accidents and other information not disclosable by law is kept confidential,” Sato said. Personal information including the driver's’ name, the car’s vehicle identification number and insurer will be redacted, the release said. “It took too long, but the DMV is now getting right,” said Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson. “The robot cars are being tested on public roads and people have a right to know as much as possible about what goes wrong,” Simpson said.