Uber Self-Driving Car Kills Pedestrian Crossing Street

A pedestrian has died after being hit by a self-driving vehicle in Tempa, Arizona. It's the first time an autonomous car has collided with a person on foot, resulting in a fatality.

The car was part of a test program offered by taxi-alternative company Uber. It's now suspended its testing which was taking place on public streets in several states.

The Washington Post says the crash took place at a busy intersection of public streets. Police said the vehicle was driving northbound and hit 49-year-old pedestrian Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing the street. They added that she was not within the marked crosswalk area when the collision occurred. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

Human Was In Driver Seat

At the time of the collision, the car was in self-driving mode, though a human driver sat at the wheel. There's no word yet on whether the driver attempted to take control of the vehicle before the crash.

It's the first time a pedestrian has died in such a crash involving a fully autonomous vehicle. Previous collisions with such cars have been non-fatal. However, in 2016 the driver of a Tesla died in a crash while using Autopilot mode. That's a semi-autonomous mode than combines familiar features such as cruise control with automatic steering to keep a car within its lane. (Source: nytimes.com)

Arizona In The Spotlight

This week's death will be particularly controversial as it took place on streets in Arizona. The state adopted particularly relaxed regulations on public testing of self-driving vehicles, a move widely believed to be an intentional attempt to attract tech companies. One company already operates cars without a driver at the wheel.

The involvement of Uber will also attract added attention given controversies over the company's human resources practices and the assumption that its self-driving vehicle program will eventually lead to a reduction in jobs for drivers.

Supporters of the technology point to self-driving cars having a considerably lower level of accidents per mile driven than those operated solely by human drivers. It remains to be seen whether the public will see this week's crash as evidence that the technology isn't safe or simply an inevitability as driverless cars continue to rack up the miles.

What's Your Opinion?

Should we take this death as anything more than a tragic accident? What rules should be in place for driverless technology? Should additional safeguards or restrictions be in place during test periods and what should be the threshold for 'proving' a technology is safe?