SELF-DRIVING CARS PARKED
Hub testing halted after Ariz. crash
NuTonomy and Optimus Ride have agreed to suspend their self-driving car tests in Boston in the wake of Sunday’s tragedy in Arizona, where an autonomous Uber vehicle killed a pedestrian.
“We are working with City of Boston officials to ensure that our automated vehicle pilots continue to adhere to high standards of safety,” a nuTonomy spokeswoman said in a statement. “We have complied with the City of Boston’s request to temporarily halt autonomous vehicle testing on public roads.”
Karl Iagnemma, chief executive of nuTonomy, said the response to the crash will be vital for the future of driverless cars and whether passengers are willing to ride in them.
“The reality is we may work very hard as technology developers and end up with a technology that
TRANSPORTATION
members of the public are uncomfortable with,” Iagnemma said, speaking at an event in Cambridge last night. “If that’s the outcome, then we have failed as an industry, so we have to think very carefully about how we develop, test and deploy the technology.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh had called on nuTonomy and Optimus Ride to suspend their Boston road tests Monday. Optimus Ride did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“I think we have to slow down a little bit, when I say slow down,” Walsh said yesterday. “I think it’s a tragedy what happened and I think obviously you mourn the loss and my heart goes out to the family but you also learn from terrible accidents like that, so a lot of questions still need to be answered.
“None of us really know what the future of autonomous vehicles are,” Walsh said. “I think this is a long discussion that’s going to continue to happen. There’s going to be other incidents that I think will happen as we move forward here, but I think it’s how do you come up with a system that’s as close to perfect as possible.”
Yesterday, Arizona police said initial information showed Elaine Herzberg, 49, was crossing a road without a crosswalk when she was hit and killed by an Uber car operating in selfdriving mode with a safety driver. Authorities said they have not yet assigned fault in the crash. Uber has since halted its tests in Arizona, San Francisco and Pittsburgh.
In the year since Boston allowed testing, the companies have expanded from the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park into Seaport streets, while nuTomony has begun carrying passengers for Lyft — all with safety operators ready to take the wheel. Optimus Ride and nuTonomy have driven nearly 1,000 miles combined without a crash, according to documents filed with the city.
Also yesterday, Toyota said it will suspend its own testing in Michigan and California, citing concerns over safety drivers’ emotional wellbeing.