Car safety experts have been putting their faith on autonomous car technology recently. But the latest reports concerning a test carried out by Volvo may cause some experts to scratch their heads.

According to a series of reports, a Volvo XC60 was being driven by the driver assistance features developed by the Swedish company when the demonstration turned sour. During the demonstration, onlookers were expecting the vehicle to automatically stop, but unfortunately, a Volvo spokesperson said, the car’s system failed. As a result, the vehicle plowed into spectators.

During the safety demonstration, which you can see in the video below, the Volvo XC60 is seen rolling backward slowly before it pauses. After the brief pause, however, the driver assistance features failed and the vehicle barreled into two people. While the incident scared all observers and company executives, no major injuries were reported.

Early reports claimed the vehicle failed while trying to self-park, however, the company claims that the dealer was simply demonstrating the car’s City Safety system, a technology that allows the vehicle to avoid collisions with other cars at low speeds. While the technology is able to detect other cars, it is not developed to detect people. For that, the system would have to be fitted with an extra feature known as Pedestrian Detection system, which would cost the consumer an extra $3,000. Still, Volvo says, even if the vehicle had been fitted with the pedestrian safety system, it would still be unsafe to allow the vehicle to be tested in an environment where people are present.

According to Volvo’s spokesperson, the driver behind the wheel of the Volvo vehicle during the demonstration was overriding any active safety system developed by the company simply by active accelerating towards bystanders. As a result, it’s impossible to simply blame the system for the incident. The fact of the matter is that, even this occurrence was caused by human error.

According to Volvo, the company is in contact with sales representatives at all times. At the moment, the company is studying whether further actions should be taken to discipline the dealer who demonstrated the technology incorrectly.

While several incidents are mostly preventable, this particular occurrence reminds us that trusting technology alone to keep us safe may not be the best of ideas. If you’re a car owner and you would like to know more about the Volvo safety and accident prevention technology, visit the company’s website for more details. For the recent car incident, watch the video below or follow this link for the full article.