[gizmodo.com]

The crash of an Uber self-driving car that killed an Arizona woman in March was “entirely avoidable,” according to police reports released by the Tempe Police Department. Cellphone data obtained by police suggests that the Uber operator was also streaming an episode of reality show The Voice at the time of the fatal incident.

The documents, released to Gizmodo in response to a public records request, show that Tempe police found that the operator of the Uber autonomous vehicle could likely have avoided the fatal crash, had she been paying attention—but instead she was likely watching a video on her phone. Police also noted that Uber’s vehicles apparently did not alert operators to take over the vehicle during incidents.

After the crash, Uber laid off 300 test drivers from its autonomous vehicle unit and halted testing in Arizona. An Uber spokesperson noted that using any device behind the wheel, even a smartwatch, would be considered a fireable offense.

The crash killed Elaine Herzberg, a 49-year-old woman who was walking across the street with a bicycle when she was struck by the Uber vehicle. Uber’s autonomous technology failed to detect Herzberg, and the human driver who was supposed to act as a safeguard appeared distracted in previously released footage. Now, several documents in the 318-page report suggest the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, may have been streaming an episode of The Voice at the time of the crash.

“The driver in this case could have reacted and brought the vehicle to a stop 42.61 feet prior to the pedestrian,” one of the documents concluded.

However, Tempe police also noted that Uber’s vehicles did not alert autonomous vehicle operators about when to take control of their cars.

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Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

>However, Tempe police also noted that Uber’s vehicles did not alert autonomous vehicle operators about when to take control of their cars.

Cars that are autonomous 99% of the time are a TERRIBLE idea. I can't believe anyone involved in creating autonomous vehicles doesn't know this

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Luddites...

“The driver in this case could have reacted and brought the vehicle to a stop 42.61 feet prior to the pedestrian,” one of the documents concluded.


This.

Yes, the Uber set up should have alerted the driver that something was in its path. I'd like to know at what distance the system first detected Ms. Herzburg, and if the 42' distance might have been much greater, had alerts been configured.

Uber apparently and erroneously assumed the driver would be paying attention even though their input might not be require much of the time.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

cars that are autonomous at all are a terrible idea.

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!#$@@$#!

never do yesterday or today what you can put off til tomorrow or next year.

Autonomous cars aren't the problem.

People are the problem.

Once SkyNet becomes self-aware, Darwinism will kick in big time,full time.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

42.61 feet? Could I get a margin of error on that...

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Just put "motorcycle" in the story instead of "self-driving car". LET THE HATE FLOW.

That's one person killed out of how many cars? That's one too many but perfection isn't possible.

Possibly, but by some measures deaths related to semi-autonomous cars are at a higher rate that for regular vehicles.

Quote
JoeH
Possibly, but by some measures deaths related to semi-autonomous cars are at a higher rate that for regular vehicles.

That's true. But it can't be zero.

The fact is, I expect about 90% of people in self-driving cars will be watching TV, movies, and videos. Or texting. Or talking on the phone. Same as now. There will probably be more Teddy-Pendergrass-type vehicle accidents, too.

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The driver was 100% in the wrong for watching TV while on the job.

Uber was 100% in the wrong for disabling the ability of the car to brake when it detected the crash victim.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

But it can't be zero.

No, it can't.

But I like knowing that somebody is shooting to get as close to that figure as possible. Autonomous driving is being heralded as the future. And the potential is huge. A bus driver falls asleep at the wheel and tens or scores of people die. Autonomous driving could/will prevent much of that.

So it makes sense to fully scrutinize every collision and make the results clear. Personally, I think the panic over the perceived dangers of those cars is far less than the outrage over said panic.

This woman died because of driver error, plain and simple. The driver had one job and failed at that.

As 99.98% of us drive cars without 'AI' braking, I don't agree that Uber was 100% wrong for dialing Volvo's auto-braking system. But I do believe they should have been far more selective about choosing drivers, and tested the driver before letting them test the car.

And I say they should have had a warning system in place to alert the driver that intervention could be needed.

At 46mph, I'd guess that the margin of error was small. A 46' distance between a stopped car and POI is huge. This tells me that there was also time to not only brake, but say steer to the left, safely clearing the victim and also avoiding killing her. There was no attempt to stop the car, let alone spare this woman's life.


The fact is, I expect about 90% of people in self-driving cars will be watching TV, movies, and videos. Or texting. Or talking on the phone. Same as now. There will probably be more Teddy-Pendergrass-type vehicle accidents, too.

Human frailty being what it is, I wouldn't bet against you.

I would like to see a day when TP-type as well as more mundane activities were possible in one's personal car. That will not happen in our life time. But as AI-AD gets better, assuming no Sky Net, somebody will want to by a YouTube star. I guess there have been some weaker attempts already.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.