An Uber self-driven car reportedly hit and killed a woman
crossing the street in Arizona, reports ITRealms.
According to the Arizona police on Monday, who marked the
first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the
technology expected to transform transportation.
Reuters reports that the ride services company, Uber said it
was suspending North American tests of its self-driving vehicles, which are
currently going on in Arizona, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
The so-called robot cars, when fully developed by companies
including Uber, Alphabet Inc and General Motors Co, are expected to drastically
cut down on motor vehicle fatalities and create billion-dollar businesses. But
Monday's accident underscored the possible challenges ahead for the promising
technology as the cars confront real-world situations involving real people.
U.S. lawmakers have been debating legislation that would
speed introduction of self-driving cars.
"This tragic accident underscores why we need to be
exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle
technologies on public roads," said Democratic Senator Edward Markey, a
member of the transportation committee, in a statement.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, was walking her bicycle outside the
crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe about 10 p.m. MST
Sunday (0400 GMT Monday) when she was struck by the Uber vehicle traveling at
about 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour), police said. The car was in
autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel.
Burned-out flares lie at the location where a pedestrian was
struck and killed by an Uber self-driving sport utility vehicle in Tempe, Ariz.
on Monday, March 19, 2018.
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