Self-driving cars have been getting a lot of attention recently, especially with the success of Google’s self-driving cars, a project that is now known as Waymo. The passenger-share company Uber began testing its self-driving cars recently as well; however, they suspended their program following a high-impact crash involving their autonomous vehicles in Tempe, Arizona.
Uber’s Accident
Although Uber has halted its self-driving vehicle program, it has not terminated it. It is merely temporarily suspended while they investigate the accident that occurred in Arizona. Uber has also decided to temporarily suspend its Pittsburgh operations as well.
Even though Uber has taken their self-driving cars off the road for now, the accident that occurred was not the fault of the autonomous Uber vehicle. The fault of the accident lies with another car, the driver of which failed to yield for Uber’s vehicle. The collision resulted in the Uber car ending up on its side, while the other car experienced several dents and smashed windows. Nobody was injured in the accident.
Uber’s Self-Driving Cars
Uber first began testing their self-driving cars last year in Pittsburgh before expanding the program to Arizona. They attempted to test them in San Francisco as well, but were banned from the streets by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Uber’s program has not been without controversy. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo sued Uber, claiming that they stole designs for their Lidar, an important component of their own driverless cars that they are also testing in Arizona. Uber has denied the charges. Waymo has tested their driverless cars for over two million miles on public roads. There were only a few minor incidents, all of which were caused by other cars rear-ending Waymo’s driverless vehicles in busier areas of the state.
Although Uber is trying to stay at the forefront of the industry by implementing new technological advancements, they continue to court controversy in numerous areas, from their self-driving cars to various other scandals involving the evasion of government regulations and enforcements. Keep up-to-date on all the latest news that could affect you at The Benefits Store.
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