The accident, the causes of which are still being investigated by the authorities in Tempe, the North American city where the accident occurred, has already led to the temporary suspension of Uber's autonomous driving program. At least, until all the reasons that led to what happened are determined.
Although details are still scarce, the American television channel ABC advances that the collision happened at a time when the woman, on a bicycle, decided to cross the street, and was then rammed by the Uber vehicle. The woman will still have been taken to a nearby hospital, but it will no longer have been possible to save her.
Cyclist did not cross on the treadmill
The same source also refers that the data obtained so far show that Uber vehicle would be operating, at the time, in autonomous driving mode, although it had, and as determined by law in the state of Arizona, a human in the driver's seat. This situation, if confirmed, reveals that both the car's electronic systems and the driver himself will not have noticed the cyclist's presence.
Moreover, the information also mentions that the woman will not have used any crosswalks to cross, which, added to the time when the accident occurred, already at night, may have contributed to the accident.
Uber takes autonomous vehicles off the streets
Contacted by the American media, Uber officials released a statement, in which they began by deploring what had happened, assuring that “we are fully cooperating, both with Temple Police and other local authorities, in attempts to clarify the reasons. that led to the accident”.At the same time, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, a company spokesman also revealed that "we will temporarily withdraw our autonomous cars from the streets of Tempe, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Toronto, cities where they have been tested" .
Accident can jeopardize autonomous driving program
While this is not the first accident involving a Uber autonomous car, it is the first incident of its kind to cause a normal casualty. A situation that could put under greater scrutiny the openness that the state of Arizona has been showing towards the use of autonomous vehicles on its roads.
Even more, at a time when state authorities have just authorized Waymo to waive the obligation to have a human in the driver's seat inside autonomous vehicles.