Uber should not test self-driving cars on public roads until regulators sign off

Washington — The US National Transportation Safety Board concluded its first investigation of a fatal crash involving an autonomous test vehicle by issuing several recommendations aimed at tightening the limited oversight of companies that test self-driving cars on public roads.

The case had been closely watched in the emerging autonomous vehicle industry, which has attracted billions of dollars in investment from companies such as General Motors and Alphabet in an attempt to transform transportation. Uber halted self-driving car tests after the accident. Information released since then highlighted a series of lapses — both technological and human — that the board cited as having contributed to the crash.The “immediate cause” of the crash was the backup safety driver’s failure to monitor the road ahead because she was distracted by her mobile device, the board found. A lax safety programme at Uber contributed to the accident, the NTSB found.

“Over the last 20 months, we have provided the NTSB with complete access to information about our technology and the developments we have made since the crash,” Nat Beuse, head of safety for Uber’s self-driving car operation, said in a statement. “While we are proud of our progress, we will never lose sight of what brought us here or our responsibility to continue raising the bar on safety.”

The safety driver was streaming a television show on her phone in the moments before the crash, despite company policy prohibiting drivers from using mobile devices, according to police. The NTSB has also said that Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group that was testing self-driving cars on public streets in Tempe didn’t have a stand-alone safety division, a formal safety plan, standard operating procedures or a manager focused on preventing accidents.

Source: Car News Wire (carnewswire.net)

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