As of Saturday, Uber is stopping its self-driving program in Arizona, Pittsburgh and San Francisco after one of its Arizona self-driving cars was in a crash.
The accident was similar to other self-driving accidents where the car assumes that another car will yield to it. In this case, the self-driving SUV Volvo XC90 rolled on its side after being hit by another car that did not yield to it. There was a driver behind the wheel. There are conflicting report whether the car was self-driving mode at the the time of crash.
The Tempe Arizona Police confirmed that that the Uber car was not at fault and is investigating the incident. The driver of the other car was issued a citation. There were no serious injuries reported.
Uber is known for skirting the law. The company was testing self-driving cars in San Francisco with passengers without the necessary permits, claiming that their cars were not fully self-driving. The cars were spotted running stop lights.
Meanwhile, Uber has be under attack for its business practices including Greyballing police, lack of respect for women and sexual harassment. Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick was asked to apologize for his chewing out an Uber driver.
Uber was forced to pay $20 Million for exaggerating earnings of Uber drivers in ads and lease/financing rates.
Ubers does not take full responsibility for damages from its self-driving cars. Consumer groups contend that insurance rates will increase for consumers to pay for damages from self-driving cars. Consumer WatchDog warns that DMV of California’s new rules for self-driving cars is too weak.
Uber came in second place for AUTO Connected Car News’ Tech CARS’ Edsel Hugo Award for Biggest SNAFU of 2016.
During the Super Bowl Game Tostitos’ chip bags promoted safe driving with alcohol sensors and free Uber rides.
#UPDATE: No injuries yet reported in an accident involving a self-driving #uber, captured by @fresconews user Mark Beach in Tempe, AZ. pic.twitter.com/kmizvRD5WP
— Fresco News (@fresconews) March 25, 2017