DC: Police in Tempe, Ariz., released video of an autonomous Uber SUV hitting and killing a woman who was crossing the street Wednesday, the first video of the crash.
In the dashboard camera footage, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg can be seen crossing the road Sunday evening with her bicycle moments before impact, with the car making no apparent effort to stop.
A second angle shows an operator in the driver’s seat of the SUV, required in the driverless test vehicles, looking into his phone and becoming startled at the impact. Police did not share video of the actual hit, “due to the graphic nature of the impact,” according to Fox News.
Police say the vehicle was traveling around at 38 mph in a 35 mph zone along the unlit road, and Herzberg was not walking on a crosswalk. Two experts told the Associated Press that the Volvo’s laser sensors should have been able to see the woman and at least attempt to brake. read more
You would have to be a real dumbass to step in front of a car. Roads are for cars. Keep your bicycle out of the road!
We recently had a young woman in dark clothes on a dark night try to cross a highway on a curve where she couldn’t be seen. She’s dead and now the driver who hit her has his life ruined, for what…because of HER stupidity?
Yep, you have to be a real dumbass to step in front of a car, but people do it all the time. In SoCal, if a pedestrian steps off of a curb anywhere, cars stop to let them cross. Driving in downtown Chicago can be a nightmare because you have to anticipate pedestrians will walk out in front of your car. Add in the motorcycle and bicycle lane sharing laws, and self driving cars can be dangerous.
Personally, I think the self-driving technology is great and in many instances can be a safer alternative. But the main problem is other non-self driving cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians; these people, including me, can and do make mistakes which a self driving car may not recognize in time. A self driving car can be programmed for evasive procedures, but can’t be programmed to visually anticipate a potential problem on a crowded city street a block ahead. One solution is to mandate that all cars be self-driving, but driving is fun, self driving cars are expensive and I can’t see this happening in the foreseeable future.
The video shows a very common situation, so there’s no way to rationalize this. The sneakers are visible for at least 2 seconds, and the car’s radar and lidar should have tracked the entire person for much longer. The car must be able to handle this. Some software or hardware developer now has a lot to answer for. Or, is this another “O-ring” situation?
Wyatt…Mandate all cars be self-driving?
Pass.
How about we make this a free country and let people decide what kind of car they want. And if driverless cars are dangerous, a few lawsuits will put them out of business.
For the time being how about the operator stays awake and pays attention?
Yeah, the whole “pedestrians have the right-of-way” “rule” implies that the pedestrian is aware of the vehicle(s) on the road and that there is some sort of acknowledgment between said pedestrian and the affected driver(s). Otherwise the pedestrian is maimed or killed.
These scrunts who willingly step in front of oncoming traffic without scarcely a glance will eventually learn a hard lesson.
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
Pedestrians that assume cars will stop if you step into a crosswalk or into the street eventually become organ donors.
So, the human driver assistant was looking at his/her/it’s cell phone.
No wonder his/her/it had little reaction time. Reaction time is based on paying attention, dumbass. I wonder how much he/she/it was getting paid to ensure safety.
Ever since cell phones and texting became ubiquitous, I encounter “driverless” cars every day.
I couldn’t tell if the hog in the driver’s seat was male or female?
Why the fuck was the “driverless” car exceeding the goddamn speed limit?!!!
The bicyclist made a fatal mistake but I would rather they do away with cars altogether than allow this driverless bullshit.
This death ain’t the first nor the last. If you want to make an omelette you have to crack a few eggs.
Looks like the driverless car has trouble with night vision.
car should have been able to track the bicyclist from well before the car placed her in visual range with a simple thermal sensor.
https://youtu.be/S-2K_M5CKJU
https://youtu.be/qkNIKasPo8I
and where will we be when the lane paint is worn off the road with these complicated interchange systems such as diverging diamond and the traffic circles.
Drove this stretch of road a thousand times going to ASU. It’s very poorly lit, cars are frequently moving at 45-50 MPH. What that woman did was amazingly foolhardy
Knowing that stretch of road, I can tell you I could have hit that woman easily. Might have been able to brake and avoid killing her, but I would have hit her.
I dont know if any conclusions can be drawn about uber from this