Uber Stops Self Driving Car Tests After Arizona Accident

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – After the accident involving a self driving car, Uber decided to stop the testing of autonomous vehicles in Arizona. They also decided to pause the testing which was taking place in Pittsburgh. This might come as tough for Uber right now, as they have had to face multiple controversies lately.

A photo recently posted on Twitter shows one of Uber’s self driving Volvos rolled on its side next to another car with smashed windows in Tempe, Arizona. Afterwards, an official Uber spokesperson declared that, following the incident, they would stop the testing program from Arizona and pause the Pittsburgh operations. Also, they would start an investigation on the accident.

It wasn’t Uber’s fault for the accident

It seems that it was not Uber’s fault, after all. Josie Montenegro, a police officer from Tempe, declared that the self driving Volvo was not responsible for the accident. Also, there were no injured people. It seems that the other car did not yield for the Volvo, which caused it to roll on its side.

However, there was a driver behind the wheel in the Volvo. It is still to be established if he was in control of the car or if the self driving technology was active. Fortunately, the car had no passengers on the back seats.

Last year, Uber started testing autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh. Then, they extended these tests to Arizona. They wanted to determine how feasible and how viable such autonomous cars are to deliver the Uber services. Also, Uber could see how advanced their self driving technology was.

The situation is not so bright for Uber

Unfortunately, Uber’s attempt at self driving cars might not turn into a success. Their testing program from San Francisco was banned by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Also, one of Uber’s self driving units was challenged by Google, which took some technical details for their own autonomous vehicles.

Besides this, the company was also involved in several scandals. First of all, they lost many users when they took advantage of the immigration ban, by turning off the surge pricing around locations with protesters. Then, there were the sexual harassment claims made by a former female engineer, Susan Fowler.

Uber appeared as a smart replacement for public transportation or cabs, then it got involved in many scandals, and now they have to deal with this action and the cancellation of their tests. It looks like tough times await Uber, and we are curious to see how they manage them.
Image Source: Flickr