Driverless car ‘failed to spot crash victim’

AN UBeR driverless car that hit and killed a pedestrian may have mistaken her for a plastic bag.

A report into the crash in the US reportedly says the Volvo did not stop for elaine Herzberg because she was identified by its censors as a ‘false positive’.

These are objects, like plastic bags, that will cause no trouble.

Uber has suspended its self-driving tests during the investigation, which has not been concluded.

The Information, a US website, said Uber’s car detected Miss Herzberg crossing a road in Arizona in March but ‘decided it didn’t need to react right away’.

Video of the crash filmed from the car showed its headlights caught her when she was most of the way across the street, a distance of about 30ft away. But the car did not slow from its speed of 38mph.

Professor Noel Sharkey, emeritus professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, said: ‘Autonomous vehicles present us with a great future opportunity to make roads safer.

‘But the technology is just not ready yet and needs to mature before it goes on the road. Google are a good example in continually testing for over a decade.

‘Uber, like Tesla, are rushing headlong into this too quickly. Too many mistakes and the public may turn its back on the technology.’