An unfortunate accident happened earlier this week in Tempe, Arizona where a pedestrian was struck by a self-driving Uber car. The woman was taken to the hospital but she did not survive. This was the first known fatal accident involving a self-driving car and while many feel that tests on public roads should be restricted for now, Arizona says it sees no immediate need to do that.
State officials have said that they don’t see an immediate need to restrict the rules on the tests of self-driving cars on public roads in the state following the fatal accident earlier this week. There was a safety driver behind the wheel who, according to the police, showed no signs of being impaired.
Meanwhile, Uber not only pulled its self-driving cars off public roads in Arizona, the company has grounded its entire self-driving fleet meaning that it’s not even conducting tests in other states.
Toyota has decided to suspend its self-driving car tests until further notice in deference to “an emotional effect” that its test drivers might experience after hearing about the accident. “This ‘timeout’ is meant to give them time to come to a sense of balance about the inherent risks of their jobs,” Toyota added in its statement.
The state wants to maintain the status quo for now. Arizona’s director for policy and communications at its department of transportation, Kevin Biesty, has said that the regulations in place currently are sufficient and that there are no immediate plans to enact new rules concerning the tests of self-driving cars on public roads.
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