Self-driving vehicle from Google involved in serious crash

A self-driving car made by Google has been involved in a serious accident in California, after the driver of a different car passed through a red light and hit the vehicle.

The autonomous Lexus SUV was driving through a green light at an intersection in the area in Mountain View when it collided with the other vehicle, badly damaging its front and rear-side doors.

According to Google, there was a driver in the car and self-driving mode was activated. However, it said that neither the driver or the system was at fault for the collision.

A statement from the company said that they are developing self-driving technology in order to make roads safer.

"Thousands of crashes happen everyday on U.S. roads, and red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes in the US," Google said. "Human error plays a role in 94% of these crashes, which is why we're developing fully self-driving technology to make our roads safer."

The focus on autonomous driving technology has widened in recent months, as more and more technology and motor companies team up to develop cars further.

US company Tesla are one of the leaders in the industry, but were caught up in controversy earlier this year when a driver who was using the firm's Autopilot system died in a crash with a truck on the motorway.