According to USA Today, on March 19 a Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, a tragic milestone that could lead to a major setback in the otherwise feverish development of driverless transportation.
The death of Elaine Herzberg, 49, who was crossing a street outside the marked crosswalk, appears to be the first time a self-driving car has been involved in the fatality of a person not inside the vehicle.
In 2016, a man was killed while behind the wheel of a Tesla that was driving itself in Autopilot mode when a truck cut across its path — the first such death related to a car in self-driving mode. Investigators found the driver failed to heed warnings to take back control of his car.
The Arizona accident is poised to become a focal point of a debate over the viability of self-driving cars, which promoters vow will save lives while skeptics contend it remains dangerously ill-prepared for prime time.
“There will no doubt be an exhaustive investigation,” says Akshay Anand, analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “It’s clear is that this has the potential to severely impact public perceptions of autonomous technology, and should be handled with utmost prudence by regulators, authorities and the industry alike.”
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