Uber halts self-driving car tests after death.

[Jimbuna]

Uber said it is suspending self-driving car tests in all North American cities after a fatal accident.

A woman was hit by a car and killed as she crossed the street in Tempe, Arizona.

While self-driving cars have been involved in several accidents, it is thought to be the first time a self-driving car has been involved in a fatal collision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43459156

Surely something like this was foreseeable

[mako88sb]

Not a big fan of the concept but I doubt it's going away. Eventually, once driverless cars are more prevalent, stats will be generated that show traffic accident or road collision deaths declining. Having said that, I don't even want to think about how these things will perform in severe winter driving conditions like what we are still going through here in Calgary. The road clearing has been terrible because our city has always gambled every year and lost this time on the chinook winds we get taking care of it for them. I can't imagine how driverless cars or trucks can be expected to safely navigate such conditions. Same with those winter storms that often hit the American NE.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43459156

Surely something like this was foreseeable

Yeah, especially since people these days don't look before crossing the street

[Skybird]

Not just since this accident I have problems to imagine that autonomous driving will become wide-spread reality outside very well guarded, clearly defined perimeters. There is a lot of hype in this, like in e-mobility for saving climate and good conscience.

Relevant for clearly defined, controlled perimeters, yes. But in the open, chaotic wild? I believe it when I see it. And I will not see it during my lifetime.

[Buddahaid]

Somehow I'm always reminded of this scene.

[Subnuts]

The first video of the accident has been released.

[Eichhörnchen]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Relevant for clearly defined, controlled perimeters, yes. But in the open, chaotic wild? I believe it when I see it. And I will not see it during my lifetime.

I agree... to me, driving a car is often an intuitive activity... machines do not (yet) possess intuition

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43459156

Surely something like this was foreseeable

I'm left wondering how much of this accident was the fault of the " driver-less car. " The link that you provided mentions the fact that the woman was not crossing in a designated crosswalk. I'm wondering how likely it was that she crossed the street against the light. Further, was she oblivious to the street traffic because she was busy talking or playing with her cell phone. We have all seen people on their cell phones not paying any attention to their surroundings and walking right into traffic. The article doesn't mention if that was a factor in the accident.

A human driver makes allowances for the most part for the negligence of other people. This driver-less vehicle may not.

[Mr Quatro]

What about Uber's self driving truck program ... how long will it last if they hit someone?

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...now-in-service

Uber has officially put its self-driving semi-trailer trucks into operation under the new service Uber Freight. In fact, Uber has had the self-driving trucks in service for a few months in the state of Arizona,

[mako88sb]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

I'm left wondering how much of this accident was the fault of the " driver-less car. " The link that you provided mentions the fact that the woman was not crossing in a designated crosswalk. I'm wondering how likely it was that she crossed the street against the light. Further, was she oblivious to the street traffic because she was busy talking or playing with her cell phone. We have all seen people on their cell phones not paying any attention to their surroundings and walking right into traffic. The article doesn't mention if that was a factor in the accident.

A human driver makes allowances for the most part for the negligence of other people. This driver-less vehicle may not.

Yes, it will be interesting to see if it was something that would have been unavoidable. If not, would the monitor be charged? Seems like he/she should be but maybe that second or two that it takes to override the computer is the difference.

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

The first video of the accident has been released.

I'm sure UBER will somehow try to pin the blame on the pedestrian...

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

I'm left wondering how much of this accident was the fault of the " driver-less car. "

A human driver makes allowances for the most part for the negligence of other people. This driver-less vehicle may not.

What about Uber's self driving truck program ... how long will it last if they hit someone?

I'm of the opinion, as a professional patrol driver and ex- interstate trucker, that any taxpayer has an inalienable right not to get killed by a profit motivated....anything! including driverless cars/big rigs that are experimenting innately with innocent lives on my roadway! I pay good gas and registration taxes and don't fancy being in some geek engineer'$ 'laboratory'

Arizona officials $aw opportunity when Uber and other companies began testing driverless cars a few years ago. Promising to keep over$ight light, they invited the companies to te$t their robotic vehicles on the $tate’s roads. Then on Sunday night, an autonomous car operated by Uber — and with an emergency backup driver behind the wheel — struck and killed a woman on a street in Tempe, Ariz. It was believed to be the first pedestrian death associated with self-driving technology.... California requires companies to report the number of instances when human drivers are forced to take over for the autonomous vehicle, called “disengagements.”
Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has been using cars without a human in the driver’s seat to pick up and drop off passengers in Arizona.
Most testing of driverless cars occurs with a safety driver in the front seat who is available to take over if something goes wrong. It can be challenging, however, to take control of a fast-moving vehicle. Between December 2016 and November 2017, Waymo’s self-driving cars drove about 350,000 miles and human drivers retook the wheel 63 times — an average of about 5,600 miles between every disengagement. Uber has not been testing its self-driving cars long enough in California to be required to release its disengagement numbers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/uber-driverless-fatality.html

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

I'm of the opinion, as a professional patrol driver and ex- interstate trucker, that any taxpayer has an inalienable right not to get killed by a profit motivated....anything! including driverless cars/big rigs that are experimenting innately with innocent lives on my roadway! I pay good gas and registration taxes and don't fancy being in some geek engineer'$ 'laboratory' https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/uber-driverless-fatality.html

I'm also not in favor of a driver-less car, big truck or anything automated like that. With that being said, the investigators sifting through the evidence have said on record that this accident may not be the fault of UBER or the automated car. The police have said it would have been impossible to stop in time even if the car had been driven by a human.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/585443...down-cops-say/

This would suggest that the behavior of the woman who was unfortunately killed contributed in some way to her untimely demise. The investigation is ongoing so more information should be forthcoming in the days and weeks ahead. It's unfortunate that it took a woman's death to call in to question the desirability or viability of having a self driving vehicle. The technology is there but what about the software packages ? The car that struck the woman was said to be traveling at 38mph in a designated 35mph zone. While police routinely give drivers a 5 mph buffer, the computer controlled car should have been traveling slower as one would expect from a better controlled, computerized car.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

I'm left wondering how much of this accident was the fault of the " driver-less car. " The link that you provided mentions the fact that the woman was not crossing in a designated crosswalk. I'm wondering how likely it was that she crossed the street against the light. Further, was she oblivious to the street traffic because she was busy talking or playing with her cell phone. We have all seen people on their cell phones not paying any attention to their surroundings and walking right into traffic. The article doesn't mention if that was a factor in the accident.

A human driver makes allowances for the most part for the negligence of other people. This driver-less vehicle may not.

True that

[Jimbuna]

Video footage of the fatal event.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43497364