One of the autonomous test SUVs operated by Uber struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in what appears to be first known pedestrian fatality involving an autonomous vehicle. According to the Tempe Police, the SUV was in self-driving mode under the supervision of a human safety driver at the time of the accident.
The woman was crossing the street outside of a crosswalk when the SUV struck her, said Tempe Police in a statement. The whole thing occurred overnight and on Monday, Uber Technologies Inc. temporarily halted autonomous vehicle tests in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
She was taken to a nearby hospital where she died fighting her injuries. An Uber spokesperson said that they are “fully cooperating with the local authorities and Tempe Police as they investigate this incident.”
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family,” added the spokesperson. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi also expressed sympathy for the victim’s family on Twitter.
The human safety driver was placed in the self-driving car to ensure the safety of onboard passengers which in this case were zero and others on the road. They should take control of the car whenever self-driving systems fail or endanger people’s safety on the road.
The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) is opening an investigation into the death caused by the self-driving SUV. This is the first incident involving pedestrian’s death after getting struck by an autonomous vehicle in self-driving mode. Tesla’s autonomous vehicle owners, relying on its self-driving technology, were also involved in fatal car crashes, however, sometimes the technology saved them.
The incident happened last night once again raised the question- “Are autonomous vehicles safe?”
