Video 'suggests self-driving Uber car in fatal collision should have spotted pedestrian'

Video of a deadly self-driving vehicle crash in the US shows a pedestrian walking from a darkened area onto a street just moments before an Uber SUV strikes her.

The lights on the SUV didn't illuminate 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg on Sunday night until a second or two before impact, raising questions about whether the vehicle could have stopped in time.

The crash on Sunday night in Tempe in Arizona was the first death involving a full autonomous test vehicle. The Volvo was in self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck Herzberg, police said.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/03/22/video-suggests-uber-self-driving-car-fatal-collision-should/

Video on link

If you don't want to drive, get a TAXI, cheaper and safer !

I don't trust these no driver cars, I wont be getting one.

Regardless of the dark, the vehicle should have detected the person. This was a malfunction, not a design problem.

No thanks. I prefer people to machines.

How many more "malfunctions" will happen when there's more of them on the roads?

And...can the Russians hack into their vehicle control box?

We've already seen that they can shut down electrical grids and air traffic control towers. We are just giving away the nation to Putin.

magica wrote:I don't trust these no driver cars, I wont be getting one.

The buggers won't hack into mine....just look at my avatar!

Fred Moletrousers wrote:

magica wrote:I don't trust these no driver cars, I wont be getting one.

The buggers won't hack into mine....just look at my avatar!

Lol Moley I didn't know that was your car. Now I'd get in that one!

magica wrote:

Fred Moletrousers wrote:

The buggers won't hack into mine....just look at my avatar!

Lol Moley I didn't know that was your car. Now I'd get in that one!

A 1971 Land Rover Series 2a County Station Wagon, Magica...one of the very last of that iconic marque to be manufactured.

An absolute pig to drive, four gear sticks, no synchro, no power steering, heating system that wouldn't move a self respecting thermometer by more than a couple of degrees, two candle power headlights, uncomfortable as hell, noisy, smelly....and she's still worth more than many folks' modern cars! A true classic, and I'm privileged to own her.

Sadly, for the old girl, she has to share a garage with my BMW - but I'm sure she forgives me!

Fred, when I read your post it reminded me of the sticker on an old mini..."My other cars a Porsche".

nicko wrote:How many more "malfunctions" will happen when there's more of them on the roads?  

less than the number of fatal malfunction of human drivers

Original Quill wrote:And...can the Russians hack into their vehicle control box?

We've already seen that they can shut down electrical grids and air traffic control towers.  We are just giving away the nation to Putin.

the Israelis can so it must be Very easy to do

Can someone answer the question iv asked a few times now, "if you don't want to drive a car yourself why not take a Taxi"? You will have to pay thousands to buy a driverless car, money that could be used for taxi fare, I don't see the point, do you?

Can Trump use a personal Uber car? Plenty of opportunities for a catastrophic malfanction, and it would save on the cost of a hunt for a lone gunman.

This is a bit confusing. I watched the video and the lady was crossing the road with her bike. Why did she do that when she knew a car was approaching? Even if there had been a driver in control it would have been difficult for them to stop in time.

Raggamuffin wrote:This is a bit confusing. I watched the video and the lady was crossing the road with her bike. Why did she do that when she knew a car was approaching? Even if there had been a driver in control it would have been difficult for them to stop in time.

I was wondering about that, too.  The accident happened on Mill Ave. and Curry Rd., in Tempe, which is just across the Salt River from Arizona State University.  I am familiar with that area.  Mill crosses the river heading south into the campus area.

https://search.yahoo.com/local/s;_ylt=Awr9KRtnD7VaxpUAZqIPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=mill&addr=E+Curry+Rd+Tempe%2C+AZ+85281&loc=woeid%3A12794532&fr=yhs-pty-pty_maps&hspart=pty&hsimp=yhs-pty_maps

She was walking her bike, and it looks like she was crossing Mill to go across the bridge.  I don't see any crosswalk lines.  Just her, out there.  Maybe she was depending on drivers to see her.

But the issue isn't blame.  The fact is, in order to be safe, the vehicle must detect and stop for anyone in the path.  It failed.

nicko wrote:Can someone answer the question iv asked a few times now,   "if you don't want to drive a car yourself why not take a Taxi"?    You will have to pay thousands to buy a driverless car, money that could be used for taxi fare,   I don't see the point,   do you?

You will also be able to drive the car yourself, so maybe some people will spend the extra on having the best of both worlds.
They can programme the car to drive itself when they want to....they can also drive it themselves like a normal car when they want to.

Syl wrote:

nicko wrote:Can someone answer the question iv asked a few times now,   "if you don't want to drive a car yourself why not take a Taxi"?    You will have to pay thousands to buy a driverless car, money that could be used for taxi fare,   I don't see the point,   do you?

You will also be able to drive the car yourself, so maybe some people will spend the extra on having the best of both worlds.
They can programme the car to drive itself when they want to....they can also drive it themselves like a normal car when they want to.

I think the driverless car idea is meant to replace taxis, and the labor costs associated with a taxi driver.

Perhaps some wealthier consumers will pay the extra costs so they can engage in a game of canasta while traveling to grandma's, but I doubt it.

Some will buy one just to "show off" !
I would think 90% of people would prefer to be in control themselves .

nicko wrote:Some will buy one just to "show off" !
I would think 90% of people would prefer to be in control themselves .  

I agree with you Nicko.
The cars wont only be used as taxi's ...in fact I can see taxi fares soaring if the companies invest in the far more expensive driverless cars.
The manufacturers will want to sell as many as they can once they are on the production line, so obviously they will be sold to private buyers too.
I think peoples mindset will have to change drastically before they trust a computer to drive the car.

Syl wrote:

nicko wrote:Some will buy one just to "show off" !
I would think 90% of people would prefer to be in control themselves .  

I agree with you Nicko.
The cars wont only be used as taxi's ...in fact I can see taxi fares soaring if the companies invest in the far more expensive driverless cars.
The manufacturers will want to sell as many as they can once they are on the production line, so obviously they will be sold to private buyers too.
I think peoples mindset will have to change drastically before they trust a computer to drive the car.

Labor costs are always the highest of the four elements of production.  The novelty will wear off for the individual consumer with these vehicles, and the manufacturers will end up with the one single motive to buy these cars: reduce the cost of a taxi driver.  They will end up being the mainstay of the taxi business.

There's no reason for the individual driver to purchase one.  It's risky, and frankly people like to drive, as nicko says.  It will come down to one question: why do I need my hands free?