Self-Driving Uber Car Kills Pedestrian in Arizona, Accident Could Have Implications for Autonomous Vehicle Testing

[ronntaylor]

Uber Driver in Fatal Arizona Crash Was Watching Hulu

Elaine Herzberg, 49, was killed in Arizona in March after she was struck by an Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode. The crash prompted investigations by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. (Herzberg is believed to be the first person killed by a vehicle operating without a driver.) According to a report from the Tempe Police Department, the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, could have avoided the crash if she had been paying more attention to her surroundings.

Dumb ass!

 

[ghanwani]

Uber Driver in Fatal Arizona Crash Was Watching Hulu

Elaine Herzberg, 49, was killed in Arizona in March after she was struck by an Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode. The crash prompted investigations by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. (Herzberg is believed to be the first person killed by a vehicle operating without a driver.) According to a report from the Tempe Police Department, the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, could have avoided the crash if she had been paying more attention to her surroundings.

Dumb ass!

Do you seriously expect someone to be that attentive for x hours day doing nothing but watching a car drive itself? May be a monk. There's a good chance they would fall asleep if not playing/entertaining themselves with some other gadget.

The only way the driver could have been expected to avoid this would have been if they were alerted in some way by the car that something wasn't working right.

 

[rafark]

Do you seriously expect someone to be that attentive for x hours day doing nothing but watching a car drive itself? May be a monk. There's a good chance they would fall asleep if not playing/entertaining themselves with some other gadget.

The only way the driver could have been expected to avoid this would have been if they were alerted in some way by the car.

The thing is, if the driver was able to prevent it, then the machine should have had twice or more chances, because computers have far superior processing capabilties, specially in terms of speed/reaction. Therefore, the guilty is the car as I said some months ago.

 

[ftaok]

Do you seriously expect someone to be that attentive for x hours day doing nothing but watching a car drive itself? May be a monk. There's a good chance they would fall asleep if not playing/entertaining themselves with some other gadget.

the driver had one job. Pay attention. Of course it's difficult to keep focus on this situation, so wouldn't it have been prudent for Uber to have two back up drivers in the car? Especially when the were running tests that disabled the auto braking systems.

This is totally on Uber, but I suspect that the blame will fall squarely on the driver's shoulder. And Uber will get a light slap on the wrist, right after they make a sizable donation to the politicians in Arizona and Tempe.

 

[ghanwani]

the driver had one job. Pay attention. Of course it's difficult to keep focus on this situation, so wouldn't it have been prudent for Uber to have two back up drivers in the car?

Difficult? I'd wager it's impossible. If someone keep their mind focused on an activity for hours on end in which their body is not engaged, they don't need a $20/hr or whatever it is Uber pays to be a self driving observer. With that level of focus, they can be whatever they want--CEO, president, anything.

Two drivers isn't going to eliminate the problem. It may help, but it won't eliminate it. You may want to read this.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24296544

More than half of pilots have fallen asleep while in charge of a plane, a survey by a pilots' union suggests.

Of the 56% who admitted sleeping, 29% told Balpa that they had woken up to find the other pilot asleep as well.

These guys make a lot more money than the Uber employee.

The blame in this situation likes squarely on the greedy execs (pushing technology before it's ready hoping to be seen as the greatest ones) and the incompetent city authorities that failed to question the readiness before allowing them to roll out the tests.

 

[ftaok]

Difficult? I'd wager it's impossible. If someone keep their mind focused on an activity for hours on end in which their body is not engaged, they don't need a $20/hr or whatever it is Uber pays to be a self driving observer. With that level of focus, they can be whatever they want--CEO, president, anything.

Two drivers isn't going to eliminate the problem. It may help, but it won't eliminate it. You may want to read this.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24296544

Ok. So then they shouldn't turn off the auto braking systems then. Or at least have two independent systems that back each other up.

According to reports that I've read, the sensors saw the pedestrian with plenty of time to react. The problem is that the systems that would have applied the brakes were turned off.

When you're testing something that requires safety protocols to be turned off, then you have to add other safety protocols in case your code doesn't work. Add the second driver, it can't hurt. Put your best drivers in that car. Reactivate the Volvo system. Do something. Don't let the only back up system (an easily distracted driver) have access to Hulu. It's not rocket science.

 

[ronntaylor]

Do you seriously expect someone to be that attentive for x hours day doing nothing but watching a car drive itself?

Yes! She had one job. Cars can — and in this instance did — kill someone. There is no excuse. No comparisons of driving on a road with other vehicles and pedestrians and in the air is not valid. Planes have been thoroughly tested and proven capable of autopilot mode and have several backup safety features. Autonomous cars are still in their infancy and so far have proven too unreliable. Arizona's governor is just as much at fault as Uber and the driver.