Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Arizona: Uber ‘likely’ not at fault in deadly self-driving car crash, police chief says


theverge.com - Uber was likely not at fault in the deadly crash of its self-driving vehicle in Arizona on Sunday evening, Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir told the San Francisco Chronicle in a startling interview the following day. Her comments have caused a stir in this closely watched investigation, which is being characterized as the first human killed by an autonomous vehicle.

“I suspect preliminarily it appears that the Uber would likely not be at fault in this accident,” Moir told the Chronicle, adding, “I won’t rule out the potential to file charges against the [backup driver] in the Uber vehicle.”

The crash occurred near Mill Avenue and Curry Road late on Sunday in Tempe, Arizona. The Uber vehicle was headed northbound when a woman, identified as 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, was struck while pushing a bicycle across the street. Herzberg was taken to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

The vehicle was traveling 38 mph, though it is unclear whether that was above or below the speed limit. (Police said the speed limit was 35 mph, but a Google Street View shot of the roadway taken last July shows a speed limit of 45 mph along that stretch of road.) The driver, 44-year-old Rafaela Vasquez, has given a statement to police.

Police have viewed footage from two of the vehicle’s cameras, one facing forward toward the street, and the other inside the car facing the driver. Based on the footage, Moir said that the driver had little time to react. “The driver said it was like a flash, the person walked out in front of them,” she said. “His first alert to the collision was the sound of the collision.”

She added, “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode [autonomous or human-driven] based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway.”

Safe streets advocates were quick to denounce Moir’s comments as tone deaf, inappropriate, and possibly misinformed. The Tempe Police Department has since walked some of it back, issuing a statement that reads, “Tempe Police Department does not determine fault in vehicular collisions.” ContinueReading

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