Uber put its self-driving automobiles back on the road on Monday, affirming confidence in its autonomous vehicle program three days after one of its vehicle was associated with a crash in Tempe, Arizona.
Uber concluded a brief investigation and cleared its autonomous cars to resume driving in the three cities where it runs a self-driving pilot program – Tempe, San Francisco and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – an Uber spokesperson, who refused to be named, informed Reuters.
On Friday, following the accident Uber suspended its pilot program in the 3 cities, in which a human-driven car “failed to yield” to an Uber vehicle while making a turn, stated Josie Montenegro, a spokesperson for Tempe’s police department. The Uber automobile was in self-driving mode during the time of the accident. “The vehicles collided, causing the autonomous car to roll onto its side,” Montenegro stated in an e-mail. “There were no major injuries.”
A driver and an engineer remained in the front seats of the Uber Volvo SUV at the time, a basic requirement for the self-driving vehicles. There was no one in back seat.
A complete police report on the Arizona crash is anticipated as early as the middle of this week, stated Lily Duran of the Tempe Police Department. She said the Uber automobile was not at fault in the accident. Pictures and a video published on Twitter by Fresco News revealed a Volvo SUV turned on its side after an accident involving two other, somewhat broken vehicles. Uber stated the images seemed from the Tempe crash scene.
Specialists in autonomous vehicles say crashes involving such vehicles will take place, however as autonomous technology enhances so too will the safety of everybody on the road.
