Uber has suspended its self-driving car program in the United States and Canada after a woman was struck and killed by an autonomous sport utility vehicle while crossing the street in Arizona.
The incident, which took place on a suburban street in Phoenix, is the first confirmed fatality caused by a fully autonomous vehicle, and will almost certainly cause issues for the introduction of the technology, which is being tested by a number of companies including Uber and Google.
“The vehicle was travelling northbound … when a female walking outside of the crosswalk crossed the road from west to east when she was struck by the Uber vehicle,” police said in a statement.
As is the case with most self-driving vehicles currently being tested, there was a operator behind the wheel at the time of the incident. It is unknown why they were unable to prevent the collision.
As well as confirming that they would be suspending testing of their self-driving vehicles, Uber addressed the death in a tweet:
Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We’re fully cooperating with @TempePolice and local authorities as they investigate this incident.
— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) March 19, 2018
In 2016, a Tesla vehicle was involved in a fatality while in the driver-assisted ‘autopilot’ mode. However, this mode is not intended to be used as a fully autonomous driving mode, and Tesla urges the users to keep their hands on the wheel at all times. In Uber’s case, they are working towards having vehicles which are completely self-driving.
Police in Tempe, Arizona have yet to comment.
