Self-driving taxi kills a pedestrian
First victim as Uber cab hits woman
UBER has taken its driverless cabs off the road after a pedestrian was killed in the first fatality of its kind.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, was knocked over as she crossed the road during testing and became the only known death involving a fully autonomous car.
There were no passengers, but police said a tester was behind the wheel “as a safeguard”. It was in full automatic mode which is supposed to detect pedestrians, cyclists and cars to prevent crashes.
The accident happened at around 10pm on Sunday in Tempe, Arizona. An Uber spokeswoman said it was “fully cooperating” and had suspended tests in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto, as well as Tempe. Chief Dara Khosrowshahi tweeted: “Incredibly sad news in Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work to understand what happened.”
In March 2017 an Uber Volvo was left on its side following a crash in Tempe. It too had a driver at the wheel. Uber has been dogged by controversy since its launch in March 2009. London officials are attempting to ban Uber over safety issues.