![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
. | ![]() |
. |
![]() By Rob Lever Washington (AFP) May 24, 2018
An Uber self-driving car detected a pedestrian six seconds ahead of a fatal Arizona crash that killed the woman but failed to activate emergency braking, a preliminary investigation report said Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board said its preliminary report stopped short of assigning blame for the March fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona, adding that any conclusion would come in its updated report. But the NTSB said Uber's engineers had disabled an automatic emergency braking system "to reduce the potential for erratic vehicle behavior." The report said the self-driving system determined that emergency braking was needed 1.3 seconds before impact but that by then it was too late. The person in the driver's seat for emergencies applied the brakes less than a second before impact, unable to avoid the woman. The NTSB said preliminary reports by their nature do not determine the probable cause of an accident, and that "all aspects of the crash remain under investigation." - Methamphetamine, marijuana - The report said the pedestrian was dressed in dark clothing and was pushing a bicycle that had no side reflectors when she crossed a section of roadway which had no lighting. Toxicology tests results for the pedestrian "were positive for methamphetamine and marijuana," the report added. Uber said in a statement it was cooperating with the safety investigation. "Over the course of the last two months, we've worked closely with the NTSB," an Uber spokesperson said. "As their investigation continues, we've initiated our own safety review of our self-driving vehicles program. We've also brought on former NTSB Chair Christopher Hart to advise us on our overall safety culture. Uber suspended its autonomous driving testing in several locations in the United States after the accident. The ridesharing giant said it hopes to resume testing in California and elsewhere, but indicated this week it would not restart in Arizona. After the accident, Arizona governor Doug Ducey sent Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi a letter saying he has directed transportation department officials to suspend Uber's testing in the state and said he found the video of the crash "disturbing and alarming." Thursday's NTSB report said the Uber car's LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) detected the pedestrian "about six seconds before impact, when the vehicle was traveling 43 mph," or 69 kilometers per hour and that the car's software "classified the pedestrian as an unknown object, as a vehicle, and then as a bicycle with varying expectations of future travel path." It said Uber's system "is not designed to alert the operator," who is expected "to intervene and take action" in an emergency.
![]() ![]() Dealerships trash talk electric cars: study Paris (AFP) May 21, 2018 Car dealerships in Nordic countries actively discourage consumers from buying electric vehicles, researchers who conducted an undercover investigation said Monday. Their findings, published in the peer-reviewed Nature Energy, reveal an overlooked barrier to the sale of electric vehicles, which are expected to play a key role in lowering CO2 emissions and curbing global warming. Posing as prospective buyers, the researchers made 126 enquiries at 82 dealerships in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland ... read more
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |