Uber shutters its self-driving car program in Arizona following fatal crash - but says it will continue testing in California and Pennsylvania

  • Uber said Wednesday that it's ending its self-driving car program in Arizona
  • The move comes two months after one of its vehicles fatally struck a pedestrian
  • Uber also announced that it's laying off 300 test drivers and will now focus on its self-driving car testing operations in Pittsburgh and San Francisco
  • Arizona's governor had already ordered Uber to halt the program in the state 

By REUTERS and ANNIE PALMER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: | Updated:

Uber is halting its self-driving car operations in Arizona two months after a crash involving one of its vehicles led to the death of a pedestrian in a Phoenix suburb.

The ride-hailing firm, which made the announcement in an internal email, is also laying off 300 drivers who operated the test vehicles on Arizona roads, according to Recode. 

Among the drivers being let go is Rafaela Vasquez, the driver who was behind the wheel at the time of the fatal crash.  

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Uber is halting its self-driving car operations in Arizona two months after a crash involving one of its vehicles led to the death of a pedestrian in a Phoenix suburb

Uber is halting its self-driving car operations in Arizona two months after a crash involving one of its vehicles led to the death of a pedestrian in a Phoenix suburb

Uber said it's not shuttering its entire autonomous vehicle program, but is focusing on more limited testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and California. 

It aims to resume self-driving operations this summer. 

'We're committed to self-driving technology, and we look forward to returning to public roads in the near future,' an Uber spokesperson told Recode.

'In the meantime, we remain focused on our top-to-bottom safety review, having brought on former NTSB chair Christopher Hart to advise us on our overall safety culture'. 

Uber had suspended its self-driving program in Arizona and elsewhere after one of its SUVs hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Tempe while it was in autonomous mode. 

The incident marked the first fatality involving an autonomous vehicle.  

In the wake of the crash, Uber executive Eric Meyhofer told employees in the email that the firm would be shifting how it tests autonomous vehicles on the roads. 

'When we get back on the road, we intend to drive in a much more limited way to test specific use cases,' Meyhofer wrote, according to Ars Technica, which obtained a copy of the email.

'Taking this approach will allow us to continually hone the safety aspects of our software and operating procedures'

'We have also used the past two months to strengthen our simulation capability, which will allow us to be more efficient with our use of road miles', he continued.  

Uber was also suspended from self-driving car tests in Arizona by the state's governor Doug Ducey. 

Uber's self-driving car crash that led to the death of a mother-of-two could have been avoided, according to experts. This image shows National Transportation Safety Board investigators examining the self-driving Uber vehicle involved in the fatal accident

Uber's self-driving car crash that led to the death of a mother-of-two could have been avoided, according to experts. This image shows National Transportation Safety Board investigators examining the self-driving Uber vehicle involved in the fatal accident

Ducey said in a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi that video footage showed the company's unquestionable failure.    

The crash is still being investigated by the Tempe police and the National Transportation Safety Board. 

In late March, Uber reached a settlement with the family of the woman killed by the firm's self-driving vehicle, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. 

Terms of the settlement were not given. 

Many experts who have reviewed dash cam footage at the time of the crash determined that it could have been avoided. 

Cortica, a firm that develops artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles, has analysed the dash cam video.

The company concludes the car, which failed to brake or swerve before the collision, had enough time to react and potentially save Ms Herzberg's life. 

The company concludes the car, which failed to brake or swerve before the collision, had enough time to react and potentially save Ms Herzberg's life. Pictured is the mother-of-two's bicycle following the incident on Sunday evening

The company concludes the car, which failed to brake or swerve before the collision, had enough time to react and potentially save Ms Herzberg's life. Pictured is the mother-of-two's bicycle following the incident on Sunday evening

READ THE FULL MEMO SENT TO EMPLOYEES ABOUT UBER'S SELF-DRIVING PROGRAM  

Team,

We’ve made the tough call to wind down operations in Phoenix. As you know, there’s been a public call for the suspension of our self-driving program on Arizona's public roads and we have decided to refocus the bulk of our efforts in our engineering hubs in San Francisco and Pittsburgh. This is the best path forward as we work to get back on the road as soon as possible.

To be clear, we are not shutting down our self-driving program. We are actively working to make our return to the road a reality with a goal of resuming operations in Pittsburgh this summer. We are also in conversations with the California Governor, California DMV and cities of San Francisco and Sacramento.

When we get back on the road, we intend to drive in a much more limited way to test specific use cases in concert with our Software and Hardware development teams. Taking this approach will allow us to continually hone the safety aspects of our software and operating procedures. We have also used the past two months to strengthen our simulation capability, which will allow us to be more efficient with our use of road miles.

Our return to public roads is tied to securing the proper testing permits alongside our safety improvements. We remain focused on our safety review, which is evaluating everything from the safety of our system to our vehicle operator training.

We’ll be sharing the following media statement:

“We’re committed to self-driving technology and look forward to returning to public roads in the coming months. In the meantime, we remain focused on our top-to-bottom safety review, having brought on former NTSB Chair Christopher Hart to advise us on our overall safety culture.”

I appreciate your staying the course during this difficult time and truly believe that together we can realize the potential of this technology.

- Eric

Source: Ars Technica 

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Speaking to CNET, Cortica's CEO Igal Raichelgauz said the firm's self-driving AI system detected Ms Herzberg 0.9 seconds before impact.

At this point the car was around 50 feet (15 metres) away.

He said the autonomous car's cameras and radar system should have had enough time to pick up the pedestrian and react to the situation.  

Driverless cars are fitted with a system of cameras, radar and lidar sensors that allow them to 'see' their surroundings and detect traffic, pedestrians and other objects.

An AI computer system then decides what actions the car takes to avoid a collision - a setup that is supposed to work as well at night as during the day. 

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