A scream of shock, then driverless Uber car ploughs into pedestrian
POLICE in Arizona have released a video of a fatal collision between an Uber driverless vehicle and a pedestrian, as investigators probe the accident that has put new focus on the safety of autonomous vehicles.
The video, taken from inside the Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle that Uber has used for testing, shows the vehicle driving along a dark road when an image of a woman walking a bicycle across the road suddenly appears in the headlights. The woman, Elaine Herzberg, 49, later died from her injuries.
The video shows the vehicle travelling in the right-hand lane of a divided four-lane roadway. The vehicle’s headlights illuminate a woman crossing the SUV’S lane with her bike. The woman appears to be jaywalking.
A photo released by safety regulators on Tuesday showed that the impact occurred on the right side of the vehicle.
The footage also shows a view of the vehicle’s interior and the driver at the wheel. The motorist appears to be looking down, and not at the road, for two periods of about five seconds each. Just before the video stops, the driver looks upward and looks shocked.
Police have released few details about the accident that occurred on Sunday night in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, while the SUV was driving in autonomous mode. Uber immediately suspended its self-driving testing in North America and federal safety regulators are conducting their own probe.
Fallout from the accident could stall the development and testing of selfdriving vehicles, which are designed to perform far better than human drivers.
“The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine’s loved ones,” Uber said in a statement. “Our cars remain grounded, and we’re assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can.” The video is likely to be a key part of investigations into Uber’s self-driving car technology and whether it was ready for testing on public roads.
Companies including Uber, Alphabet’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise Automation have been testing their self-driving technology in Arizona, which has welcomed the industry with a lighter regulatory touch than in states like California, for example.