Elaine Herzberg, age 49, died when she crossed outside of a designated crosswalk area. The vehicle, a self-driving Volvo owned by Uber, was in self-driving mode when the accident occurred. A safety driver was in the vehicle at the time, which is standard practice according to the company. This is the first time a self-driving car has been involved in the fatality of a person not inside the vehicle.
Akshay Anand, analyst at Kelley Blue Book, had this to say.
“There will no doubt be an exhaustive investigation. It's clear is that this has the potential to severely impact public perceptions of autonomous technology, and should be handled with utmost prudence by regulators, authorities and the industry alike.”
According to a press conference by Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock, the Uber-owned Volvo was driving at around 40 mph when it struck the pedestrian. Safety driver Rafael Vasquez, age 44, was not found to be impaired and was fully cooperative with police. The victim had stepped into the road mid-block around 10:00 PM last Sunday. She may have been homeless, Elcock added.
Remember to follow the rules of the road, both in and out of a vehicle. Self-driving cars are designed to obey traffic laws to a T, and the only instances of accidents with them are when someone else was not adhering to these laws.
