Self-driving Uber car kills pedestrian

[Ussnorway]

imo this was only a matter of time but I do wonder how the spin will turn it around because we all know money talks more than people dieing... quick let Trump make another twit of himself?

Uber suspends self-driving car tests after vehicle hits and kills woman crossing the street in Arizo...

[OldBob1957]

I am no fan of either Uber or self-driving cars, but there may be more to this incident -- it may not be the driver's (car's) fault. See the article below:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Exclusive-Tempe-police-chief-says-early-probe-12765481....

It starts with...

Pushing a bicycle laden with plastic shopping bags, a woman abruptly walked from a center median into a lane of traffic and was struck by a self-driving Uber operating in autonomous mode.

“The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,” said Sylvia Moir, police chief in Tempe, Ariz., the location for the first pedestrian fatality involving a self-driving car. “His first alert to the collision was the sound of the collision.”

Elsewhere that same Police Chief has been quoted as saying that the accident may have been unavoidable "no matter what mode the vehicle was in." They will be reviewing the camera footage from the car and checking for any other witnesses, or footage from other security cameras in the area that they can find.

I guess what I am saying is; though I am no fan of self-driving technology -- not as it currently exists -- let us wait to judge until all the facts are in.

--OB

[Ussnorway]

Legibly speaking, someone is always at fault... A human driver is expected to look in all directions that could reasonably have impact and not be reading a newspaper or talking on a mobile phone i.e, they would be charged!

If I build a powerful machine that can kill people and don't erect barrages with warning signs to stop people coming near it then when some homeless person wonders into the area and is killed, I am legibly at fault ... The law says that at the end of the day, whom ever allowed that machine on the road is at fault and the police are selling bs in that statement

[Trevor.Dennis]

Just seen this footage of the accident on BBC News

Uber self-driving crash: Footage shows moment before impact - BBC News

One moment there is just darkness, and the next, the person pushes a bicycle out of the shadows. I think that might be the front wheel of the bike in the bottom right corner of my cyan highlight.

The next few frames suddenly show her walk out of the deep shadow.

I'd like to think that the car has systems a LOT more sensitive than this dashcam, although come to think of it, my dashcam has pretty decent light amplification, and displays a brighter image than what my eyes show me.   They need to do some more work before I'd feel safe sharing the roads with these systems.  Especially at night.

[jane-e]

Trevor.Dennis  wrote

The next few frames suddenly show her walk out of the deep shadow. They need to do some more work before I'd feel safe sharing the roads with these systems.  Especially at night.

My husband was an avid cyclist, putting in 2-3,000 miles per year. He would have called her a "ninja" cyclist. She wore all dark clothing, had nothing reflective, and had no lights on her bike. The car had headlights, but for some reason, she didn't see those until the last horrifying minute. And she disobeyed local laws by jaywalking.

We are sharing roads with these cars right now, like it or not (I don't). So when out and about at night, remember not to be a ninja. Wear reflective clothing and pay attention. Look before you cross the street.

I am sorry for all parties involved—the poor woman who died and her family, and the Uber driver who was hired to drive the car.

Uber did the right thing to stop the experiment. I don't like the idea of these driverless cars on the road.

[John T Smith]

I don't remember the car brand right now, but there is an advertisement on TV right now with a "staring straight ahead" woman driving out of a parking garage... and her car stops itself before hitting a pedestrian who crosses in front of her

The message of the ad is that even if you aren't paying attention, your car is and will stop in time

Any automated car (uber or other) should have "reflexes" many times faster than a human... the fact that this car did not hit the brakes in time is an indication that this particular car did not have adequate software--hardware integration to "see" the pedestrian and hit the brakes in time

Whoever designed/built the car has to share the blame at least equally with the woman who stepped out at the wrong time

[jane-e]

So what are the other companies with driverless cars doing? Still testing, apparently.

What autonomous vehicle companies are doing in the wake of Sunday’s fatal Uber crash - The Washingto...

When I am a driver, I am a careful driver. I always stop for people who walk behind my car as I am backing into a parallel parking space. When I am a pedestrian, I would never engage in such foolish behavior as to step between two cars with a couple of feet between them and one that is backing up.

I don't like the idea of driverless cars, but will try to make myself even my visible on the days when I am a pedestrian or a cyclist.

[Trevor.Dennis]

jane-e  wrote

When I am a driver, I am a careful driver. I always stop for people who walk behind my car as I am backing into a parallel parking space. When I am a pedestrian, I would never engage in such foolish behavior as to step between two cars with a couple of feet between them and one that is backing up.

Reversing out of supermarket spaces is one of my pet fears.  Other vehicles are determined to squeeze through, which is bad enough, but pedestrians casually walk behind you oblivious to the limited visibility the driver has.  Why on earth do people do this?  Sometimes they are with children in buggies that they push out in front as a apparently sacrificial early warning system. 

My big Pajero is not great for ¾ visibility, so I have radar detectors on the rear bumper, including the corners. When the dash display says zero, there are four inches between my tow bar and the front bumper of the vehicle behind me, and it starts beeping when an object comes within five feet, including from the sides, so it would probably work as a last resort, but it would feel crazy to rely on it. 

BTW  I took the above picture for a post in the Pajero Owners Club forum.  I just can't bring myself to takes shots like this without trying to do a half decent job of it, which in the case of vehicle interiors, means killing all the reflections with black cloths, and lighting off the head lining, which is white.

[John T Smith]

No more testing in California California Won't Renew Uber's Permit To Test Self-Driving Vehicles After Fatal Crash : The Two-Way :...

[Erik_Lord]

I love the *idea* of driverless cars. The improved traffic flow alone could be a huge boon as opposed to tpeople who are on their phones or otherwise distracted. Road rage could be lowered significantly...unless maybe someone sets their car to 'overly aggressive driving'

But yes, I am absolutely wary at this point. I've no desire to own one until those first-adopters get all the bugs worked out.

One downside will be, of course 'drivers' will be even more distracted. The biggest reason I'm focused when driving is cause I just have to be. Any distraction can immediately be an accident. But put my car on auto-pilot? Maybe I'll be alert at first but within a few accident-free months, I'll be checking the phone, dozing off, eating a sub...