Self-Driving Delivery Cars Are on Their Way

We’ve all heard the hype about self-driving and fully autonomous vehicles, but the time has come, and self-driving delivery cars have made their debut – officially starting a new race to keep up with the times among delivery companies.

Domino’s recently announced that it is piloting a self-driving delivery car in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston, and many are wondering what could go wrong. If you’ve been injured in a car accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence (whether there was a driver behind the wheel or it was a robot’s fault), it’s time to reach out to an experienced New York City car accident attorney for the legal guidance you need.

Place Your Orders

Beginning in April of this year, select pizza delivery customers who place their online orders from a Domino’s location in that Woodland Heights neighborhood can choose to have their pies delivered by the driverless vehicle – that looks something like a large toy van, and that was created by Nuro, a robotics company in Silicon Valley. Once the deed is done, the pizza purchasers can track their orders and the robot’s route via GPS tracking and text alerts. Once the bot arrives at the pie owner’s door, it involves typing in a PIN number and you can get your hot pizza.

The Journey Forward

The journey forward toward driverless pizza delivery for both Domino and Nuro has been going on for a bit. Consider the following:

• In 2016, Domino’s Australia put robotic delivery carts – that scooted along sidewalks instead of roadways – to the test.
• In 2017, Domino’s tested self-driving delivery cars, but they were still in the testing stage and were manned by engineers and researchers associated with Ford.
• Nuro’s current R2 vehicle is the first driverless and first fully autonomous car to obtain the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulatory approval to operate on actual roads.

While driverless vehicles are moving beyond the pure hype stage, it is not yet time to prepare yourself for the end of delivery jobs. These jobs are not currently in jeopardy, as it will take awhile before these driverless pizza deliveries become commonplace and widespread. The rest of the driverless story remains to be seen, but these early forays into the technology pose interesting questions.

Don’t Wait to Reach out to an Experienced NYC Car Accident Attorney

The jury is still out on exactly how safe, effective, and accurate driverless vehicles are going to be, but if you’ve been injured by the negligence of a real-life driver, obtaining compensation for your full range of physical, financial, and emotional damages is critical to your ability to heal. The NYC car accident attorneys at Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman are proud of their decades of impressive experience successfully helping clients like you obtain the compensation to which they are entitled. We’re here for you, too, so please don’t wait to contact us online or call us at 212-285-3300 for more information today.