The classic rear-ending Waymo collision, from DMV reports, looks like this: - AV approaches intersection where some obstacle blocks cross-street visibility. -

The classic rear-ending Waymo collision, from DMV reports, looks like this: - AV approaches intersection where some obstacle blocks cross-street visibility. - AV slowly enters intersection to get better visibility. - AV detects cross traffic and stops quickly. - Trailing human driver following too closely rear-ends AV. Back when Google was testing in Mountain View, this was the most common accident. One particular intersection had a tree in the median strip, at a height that blocked the vehicle-top LIDAR, forcing a slow, careful entry to the intersection. At least two Google AVs were rear-ended there. As the article says, there are no recorded incidents where a Waymo AV entered an intersection with legit cross-traffic and was hit. There's one where a human driver ran a red light, clearly not the fault of the AV. One partial solution would be to have AVs flash their brake lights rapidly when they're in this may-brake-suddenly situation. That would warn humans to back off. AVs know when they're being tailgated.