Uber's Autonomous Car Test To Be Resumed After Fatal Accident

It is almost eight months since Uber’s autonomous car killed a pedestrian in Arizona, and now Uber wants to test the vehicle on public roads again.

The firm has submitted an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for permission to test in Pittsburgh. Also, it has issued a long safety report promising that each car will have two backup drivers and there will be a lot of safety precautions.

Uber executives say that it will take time and effort for the public to trust the company again after the accident. Apparently, they are talking about the fatal accident that happened on March 18 in Tempe, Arizona, killing 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg when she was crossing a darkened road but not walking on the lines of a crosswalk.

Uber's autonomous car killed a woman while she was crossing the road

According to the police report, the backup driver in the Volvo SUV was looking down on her phone, watching “The Voice” before the accident. As stated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Volvo’s self-driving system detected the woman six seconds before crashing into her, but it did not stop as the automatically applied brakes for emergency were disabled. The Volvo has an emergency braking system but that was turned off too.

Tempe police are working on a vehicular manslaughter charge in the accident, following an affidavit submitted on March 19 to search for audio, video, and data stored in the SUV. The police haven’t made the final decision yet.

Uber’s accident was the first to involve a fully self-driving vehicle which makes people question about autonomous cars’ safety in general and the ones made by Uber in particular.

In its 70-page report which came out on Friday, Uber requires mission specialists, aka backup drivers, take more technical training.

The firm also closed tests on autonomous vehicles for internal safety review procedures and an independent review which was conducted by LeClairRyan – a risk management company.

A Volvo which is the same model as the one in the accident

When interviewed, Noah Zych, Head of system safety for autonomous cars at Uber said that they wished to gain back customers’ trust and spend effort to improve the whole industry. They supposed it’s reasonable to the public and be transparent about what they are doing.

Uber pledges to remain the autonomous vehicle system engaged through the driving and have the Volvo’s automatic emergency brakes on for backups.

The firm added that it would restart the test in Pittsburgh, where its center for self-driving vehicle development is located. Then it will work to resume testing in Arizona, Toronto, California, and Ontario. However, Arizona hasn’t approved of this resumption yet.

Dated back July, Uber first resumed its tests in Pittsburgh with safety adjustments and additional driver training.

Uber autonomous car test in Pittsburgh

Miriam Chaum, Uber’s head of public policy for autonomous vehicles announced that they were working tightly with the city and officials. And that they were eager to make sure the test resumption will involve consultation as well as a close partnership with authorities.

The report also said that the self-driving cars’ system is now better, which allows cars to detect objects or humans faster and react faster.

Zych claimed backup drivers will be asked about safety before getting hired. Plus, the company will monitor them via real-time camera to ensure their full attention during the test. Zych added that though Uber has revealed to partner with Toyota on developing self-driving vehicles, only Uber’s system would be used in Pittsburgh.

In spite of the suspension, Uber is still working on its self-driving vehicle. However, the accident has caused the firm to lose some real-world time in comparison with its rivals Cruise Automation and Waymo.