Uber seeks to resume AV trials nearly eight months after Arizona fatality

Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a pedestrian in Arizona. The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities. Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The
November 6, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
8336 Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 34272 0 link-external pedestrian false /categories/utc/news/ubers-autonomous-taxi-kills-pedestrian-north-american-trials-suspended/ false false%> in Arizona.


The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external report false https://uber.app.box.com/v/UberATGSafetyReport false false%> to the US 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities.

Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The training includes modules on distracted driving and a preventive fatigue monitoring programme.

In %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36189 0 link-external July false /categories/location-based-systems/news/ubers-self-driving-cars-resume-trials-in-pittsburgh-in-manual-mode/ false false%>, the company’s mission specialists began manually driving Uber’s AVs on public roads in Pittsburgh to trial new safeguards which are expected to improve vehicle safety and performance.

One mission specialist remained behind the wheel to maintain the vehicle’s safety while the other documented notable events in the passenger seat.

According to Uber, all self-driving vehicles are now equipped with a third-party driver monitoring system and feature improved system latency to detect objects and actors sooner and react faster.

In the introduction of the report, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO says the company has conducted a review of Uber Advanced Technologies Group’s safety approaches, system development and culture.

“We continue to support the 5628 National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the Tempe crash. We have taken a measured, phased approach to returning to on-road testing, starting first with manual driving in Pittsburgh,” Khosrowshahi adds.

Khosrowshahi emphasises that Uber has committed to deliver the safety report before returning to on-road testing in self-driving mode and will only go back on the road once the improved process has been implemented.

Related Content

  • Bristol advances towards 2050 emissions target
    August 6, 2018
    Bristol City Council will install 120 electric vehicle (EV) charge points and convert part of its fleet to electric in a bid to become carbon neutral by 2050. The UK council also intends to transition at least 10% of its vehicles to electric by 2021. The scheme will take place across the West of England and is being funded by £2m grant provided by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) through the Go Ultra Low West project. Go Ultra Low West’s stated aim is to provide the infrastructure and enviro
    Read More
  • Econolite hires ex-Michigan DoT boss Kirk Steudle
    October 23, 2018
    Econolite has hired one of the best-known names in the ITS industry: Kirk Steudle is joining the company with a remit to fulfil two key roles. Steudle, the former director of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT), will be senior vice president, leading Econolite’s Transportation Systems Group and also in charge of CAVita, its connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AV) subsidiary. His responsibilities will include all C/AV projects and large-scale systems projects. Steudle had spent his entire
    Read More
  • ITS World Congress 2017 call for demos
    January 3, 2017
    As part of the Montréal World Congress 2017, conference organizers are planning to feature live demonstrations of ITS technologies. The city of Montréal will create a virtual test bed on the streets adjacent to the Convention Centre. This test bed will include an arterial loop circling the Centre and a section of a nearby limited access highway that will be equipped with DSRC roadside units integrated with local signal controllers to support demonstrations of connected vehicle technologies. In order to a
    Read More
  • Fostering ITS Policy and the IRF manifesto
    November 26, 2012
    Fostering ITS Policy, an international workshop jointly organised by TTS Italia (National Association for Telematics for Transport and Safety) and the IRF Policy Committee on ITS, aims to bring together key partners from the public, private and academic sectors in Italy to discuss ITS policy frameworks and developments in ITS university education. The workshop takes place as part of the New World Conference The New World II, the ITS for mobility management convention in Bologna on 5 December 2012 at Savoia
    Read More

Highlighted Content