Uber has had to halt its testing of self-driving cars after a fatal accident involving an autonomous vehicle and a pedestrian.
The woman’s death happened when she was crossing the road in Tempe, Arizona, and has raised concerns about the safety of autonomous vehicles.
Tempe Police stated on Twitter that they were investigating a collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle on March 18, 2018, and have since provided an update on what it has described as a “fatal accident” between the Uber vehicle and the woman.
Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We’re fully cooperating with @TempePolice and local authorities as they investigate this incident.
— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) March 19, 2018
According to reports, Uber’s car, a Volvo, struck the woman as she was crossing the road without using a designated pedestrian crossing.
The vehicle was operating in an autonomous mode with a safety driver behind the wheel.
There were no passengers in the car.
Sgt. Elcock is giving an update on the Fatal accident from last nights accident involving an autonomous vehicle. Follow on Tempe PD Facebook Live pic.twitter.com/kneKT3AIC8
— Tempe Police (@TempePolice) March 19, 2018
Regulators and technology companies have been encouraging the deployment of self-driving systems on public roads.
However, the fatality may call into question whether the Californian government has made the right decision to allow driverless cars to use its public roads after it passed new regulations last month.
In another Twitter post, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Chief Executive, said: “Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona.
“We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened.”
