LOS ANGELES — California state officials released reports Thursday detailing six accidents that involved self-driving car prototypes, reversing a policy that shielded details of how the next-generation technology is performing during testing on public roads.

The disclosure came after The Associated Press argued to the Department of Motor Vehicles that the agency was improperly withholding the information.

Most of the cars were in self-driving mode when the six accidents happened, and the other driver was at fault, the reports say. The Associated Press

According to the reports, most of the cars were in self-driving mode when the accidents happened, and the other driver caused the accident. None of the crashes was serious enough to cause injuries, either to the person the state requires to sit behind the wheel or people in the other cars.

The DMV’s refusal to release the reports bothered critics, who said the public should know how the cars of the future were faring today.

“The more transparent the government is about self-driving vehicle accidents, the more credibility the government will have when it comes time to decide – yes or no – on whether to OK the sale and licensing of self-driving cars,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition.

Until now, the agency said it could not reveal details about self-driving car accidents, citing state law making collision reports confidential.

After the DMV denied a public records request, AP argued that the agency was incorrectly interpreting the confidentiality requirement. The news organization also said the public has an interest in understanding how these experimental vehicles are performing.

“Unlocking these records and sharing them with the public are in keeping with AP’s longstanding efforts nationwide to bring about greater transparency in government agencies,” AP spokesman Paul Colford said.

Led by Google, self-driving cars have been running on public roads since 2009. It was only in September, however, that the DMV officially began permitting the testing — and requiring companies to file accident reports . Until now, the agency wouldn’t release those reports.

On Thursday, the DMV said it had reviewed the request and determined they could release the reports as long as personal information such as the drivers’ names is blacked out.

The companies that operated the cars — tech titan Google and parts supplier Delphi Automotive — submitted their own accounts of the accidents. Police have confirmed investigating only the Delphi crash.

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