Uber suspends self-driving vehicle tech after Arizona crash
- by Carmen Reese
- in Science
- — Mar 29, 2017
'Failed to yield' A spokesperson for the police in Tempe, Arizona, said the crash happened when another auto "failed to yield" to an Uber vehicle at a left turn.
Local police authorities say the semi-autonomous auto didn't cause the accident, and that it was the other driver who failed to yield.
An Uber spokeswoman said, "We are continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no back-seat passengers in the vehicle".
Ducey doesn't believe self-driving vehicle testing needs extra regulations because drivers can take over if something goes wrong, but his office said Monday after the accident that "public safety remains our top priority and we will continue to monitor the situation closely".
The accident is not the first time a self-driving auto has been involved in a collision.
An investigation found no safety-related defects with the autopilot system, but concluded that the driver may have had time to avert the crash if he had been paying closer attention.
Montenegro said it was uncertain whether the Uber driver was controlling the vehicle at the time of the collision. The SUV rolled onto its side.
"I think its neat with technology and be able to advance, but then again, it is a machine, it's not flawless, it's kind of scary", said Madison Miller. Uber called the suit "baseless".
The company's fleet of 16 self-driving cars had been on the streets of Tempe for just over a month as part of a pilot program.
The incident could be a step back for Uber's self-driving vehicle program, which already has faced several hurdles. Others that have been developing the technology longer, including Waymo, Google's self-driving auto company, have been hesitant to put ordinary people in their cars without further testing.
There's no Arizona state data showing how many accidents the cars may have been involved in or caused. The majority of those are the result of human error, and technology enthusiasts believe that number will be reduced significantly as more self-driving vehicles get on the road.
Although Uber was not at fault in the Arizona accident, the incident is problematic for the company.
"We are resuming our development operations in San Francisco this morning", she said in an email.
The New York Times also revealed the company's use of the "Greyball" program that helped Uber identify law enforcement agents who may be trying to catch it operating illegally in some places.