Uber Self-Driving Vehicle Possibly Not at Fault in Recent Fatality
Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir says that Uber's self-driving car likely wasn't at fault in the recent death of a pedestrian.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, died in Tempe, Arizona, after being hit by an Uber self-driving car outside of a crosswalk on March 18 around 10pm. The vehicle was in self-driving mode, but it had a human driver behind the wheel for back-up when the collision occurred.
Uber's self-driving cars are fitted with multiple video cameras, which showed a woman pushing a bicycle laden with plastic shopping bags abruptly walking from a center median into a lane of traffic. From viewing the videos, "it's very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven), based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway," Moir said.
The incident happened within perhaps 100 yards of a crosswalk, Moir said. "It is dangerous to cross roadways in the evening hour when well-illuminated, managed crosswalks are available."
According to Bloomberg, Uber paused all of its autonomous vehicle pilots in San Francisco, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Toronto after the fatal incident, and the ride-share company has stated its commitment to assist with the investigation of the incident. Toyota also decided to temporarily halt its self-driving car tests following the incident, too, according to Reuters.
Police Chief Moir stated that she would not rule out the potential of filing charges if investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration find the back-up driver in the Uber vehicle to be at fault. But, if the vehicle itself is the culprit, Moir did not have a firm answer on next steps.
"This is really new ground we're venturing into," she said.
*This post has been updated to include the information on Toyota pausing its self-driving car tests.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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Cons
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- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
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- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month