Ubers self-driving cars in Arizona averaged only 13 miles without intervention prior to crash

[FrodosNewPet]

Uber’s self-driving cars in Arizona averaged only 13 miles without intervention prior to crash

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/380038-ubers-self-driving-cars-in-arizona-averaged-only-13-miles-without

By John Bowden - 03/23/18 07:19 PM EDT

Uber's self-driving cars already lagged well behind competitors in terms of reliability ahead of a fatal crash Sunday in Arizona, according to a new report Friday.

The New York Times reported that Uber's self-driving technology worked on average for just 13 miles in Arizona before requiring human correction to avoid a crash, compared to an average of 5,600 miles for one of Uber's top competitors in the market, Waymo, in nearby California. Uber has not released data for its self-driving car tests in California.

On Sunday, a self-driving Uber car in Phoenix struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing the street at night, while the car was in autonomous-driving mode and travelling at 40 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone.

~ snip ~

The company moved from dual-operator tests to single-operator tests earlier this year despite concerns from drivers that the monotonous hours behind the wheel solo during tests could be distracting for solo drivers.

~ snip ~

[tblue37]

1. And Waymo averaged 5,600 miles. Quite a difference there! nt

[FrodosNewPet]

3. That is still inadequate for "full" autonomy, but MUCH better.

Uber is in serious financial trouble. With expenses exceeding revenues by a wide margin, the are burning through investor capital at the rate of BILLIONS of dollars per year. Unfortunately, that means they are likely to be cutting corners whenever and wherever possible. For example, dropping the second person from their test vehicles.

[quartz007]

2. Driverless cars will become the biggest bonanza ever

for trial lawyers. Just think, then they can sue a large corporation instead of some hapless individual who caused the accident but has no deep pockets.

[TomSlick]

4. The technology isn't ready for prime time - yet.

If the last few decades have proven anything it's that we should not bet against the engineers.

[democratisphere]

5. The autonomous driving technology is far from ready for primetime.

The only reason it's being pushed so hard is to eliminate human labor costs. It will be many more years before this technology is ready for its intended operation.