Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street

Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by tooltalk on Monday March 19, 2018 @05:26PM (#16623348)

Do auto accidents fall under criminal law in Arizona? In NY where I live, unless it's DUI or otherwise reckless and/or intentional in some ways, it's just a traffic violation. You could take the offender to civil court, but that's still crazy. In this particular case, I think Uber, if they are at fault, would have to pay arms and legs to get out of this.

While the woman's death is tragic, I hope this doesn't set us back on whatever progress made in autonomous driving.

EDIT: removed "While this a serious f*up by Uber and"

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by heyyyouu on Monday March 19, 2018 @08:16PM (#16624745)

Not sure why you think that taking the offender to civil court is crazy? It happens literally every day. And it the case of death you're going to get major damages. Normally these cases settle, but like it or not many, many people sue over serious and fatal auto accidents.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by dkonofalski on Monday March 19, 2018 @06:07PM (#16623693)

>While this a serious f*up by Uber

How do you know that? From my initial reading of the police report, the woman was jaywalking and ran out into the middle of the street. I'm not even sure a human or autonomous driver would have been able to stop in time. The only tech that might have been able to is Waymo's since, based on the video they released, they have a radar lock on every pedestrian within a mile of the vehicle and they do predictive tracking to determine their position. Even then, it might have still not stopped in time.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by drb91 on Monday March 19, 2018 @07:18PM (#16624301)

Uber still has a responsibility to avoid hitting jaywalkers. I would be more sympathetic on a freway, but this seems negligent. If they can’t avoid hitting jaywalkers they need to keep testing in a less dangerous circumstance.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by dkonofalski on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @01:30PM (#16630651)

You're making the mistaken assumption that this accident could have been avoided at all. While autonomous vehicles should have a higher threshold for responsibility than human drivers, it's not possible to expect them to never be involved in accidents. For all we know, the jaywalker ran right out into the road.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by tooltalk on Monday March 19, 2018 @06:21PM (#16623822)

I guess you are right. What I meant to say was it's a terrible PR for Uber, and a serious f*up if Uber was at fault.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by JetSpiegel on Monday March 19, 2018 @06:21PM (#16623816)

If self driving cars are only as safe as human drivers, why bother with spending billions to achieve status quo?

Unless it is a pure capitalist move.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by dkonofalski on Monday March 19, 2018 @06:58PM (#16624135)

They're far better than human drivers but that depends on the system. In my personal opinion, based on the sensor video that Waymo release a few weeks ago, their self-driving tech is far more focused on safety than Uber's and their vehicles are likely far safer than a human driver.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by tooltalk on Wednesday March 21, 2018 @07:42PM (#16643574)

have you watch the video provided by the Tempe police? The woman was jaywalking, but it was far from running out. This is something that Uber should have picked up.

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by stewartbutler on Monday March 19, 2018 @05:37PM (#16623453)

Interesting question here: did Uber have authorization to operate automated in AZ? If not, and they had a human operator behind the wheel as a backup, is that human liable for manslaughter charges for not being in control of the vehicle?

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Re:Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street by Mtinie on Monday March 19, 2018 @06:11PM (#16623728)

  Did Uber have authorization to operated automated in AZ?

According my reading of AZ Executive Order #2018-04 [0], presuming they meet the guidelines established in provisions #2 and #3, they do:

2) Testing or operation of self-driving vehicles equipped with an automated driving system on public roads with, or without, a person present in the vehicle are required to follow all federal laws, Arizona State Statutes, Title 28 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, all regulations and policies set forth by the Arizona Department of Transportation, and this Order.

3) Testing or operation of vehicles on public roads that do not have a person present in the vehicle shall be allowed only if such vehicles are fully autonomous, provided that a person prior to commencing testing or operation of fully autonomous vehicles, has submitted a written statement to the Arizona Department of Transportation, or if already begun, has submitted a statement to the Arizona Department of Transportation within 60 days of the issuance of this Order acknowledging that:

a. Unless an exemption or waiver has been granted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fully autonomous vehicle is equipped with an automated driving system that is in compliance with all applicable federal law and federal motor vehicle safety standards and bears the required certification label(s) including reference to any exemption granted under applicable federal law;

b. If a failure of the automated driving system occurs that renders that system unable to perform the entire dynamic driving task relevant to its intended operational design domain, the fully autonomous vehicle will achieve a minimal risk condition;

c. The fully autonomous vehicle is capable of complying with all applicable traffic and motor vehicle safety laws and regulations of the State of Arizona, and the person testing or operating the fully autonomous vehicle may be issued a traffic citation or other applicable penalty in the event the vehicle fails to comply with traffic and/or motor vehicle laws; and

d. The fully autonomous vehicle meets all applicable certificate, title registration, licensing and insurance requirements.

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[0] "Executive Order: 2018-04 - Advancing Autonomous Vehicle Testing And Operating; Prioritizing Public Safety" - https://azgovernor.gov/file/12514/download

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