Cyclist is first person killed in crash with self-drive car
AN UBER self-driving car has hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Arizona, marking the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation.
The ride services company says it is suspending North American tests of its self-driving vehicles, which are currently going on in Arizona, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
So-called robot cars, when fully developed by companies including Uber, Alphabet and General Motors, are expected to drastically cut down on motor vehicle fatalities and create billion-dollar businesses, but Monday’s accident underscored the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars confront real-world situations involving real people.
US politicians have been debating legislation that would speed introduction of self-driving cars.
“This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads,” said Democratic Senator Edward Markey, a member of the transportation committee, in a statement.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe about 10pm local time when she was struck by the Uber vehicle travelling at about 65km/h, police say. The car was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel.
Herzberg later died from her injuries in a hospital.
Volvo, the Swedish car brand owned by China’s Geely, confirmed its vehicle was involved in the crash but said the software controlling the SUV was not its own. – Reuters