Uber is finally restarting its self-driving program in Arizona and Pittsburgh. The company has confirmed that its cars are now back on road. This comes after an accident on Friday that saw one of the company’s self-driving vehicles flip over to its side after a collision with another vehicle. The company had suspended the operations of its self-driving fleet in wake of the accident. It now appears as if it is ready to resume its testing.
The company had reportedly paused the pilot program to ensure that it was able to collect all the requisite data that enabled it to conduct an investigation into the matter. From what we hear, Uber’s car was driving at a high speed and flipped on to its side following a crash. What’s more, at least two other human driven cars were also reported damaged.
Crashes are not good for a company that professes to provide self driving cabs. After all, people are going to be apprehensive enough about sitting in a car that hasn’t got any visible driver, without adding stories of past crashes into the mix. The last time a self-driving Uber ran a red light, one thing led to another and the company got itself banned from public testing in a whole state, namely California.
Meanwhile, the last accident appears to have occurred due to the fact that another car failed to yield to Uber’s SUV. The cars collided while at high speed and the Uber s vehicle flipping onto its side. Apparently, the Uber driver (yes, there was a driver sitting in the car) was unable to take over the controls and the accident thus occurred.
Meanwhile, the company has resumed testing in both Arizona and Pittsburgh. It had resumed testing in California earlier. The company had received a rousing welcome in Arizona, with the governor the first passenger in a self driving car. The company also improved its relationships with the California DMV with the result that it is now getting back on the roads in the state. However, accidents of this sort are worrying, particularly with internal reports that its self-driving division isn’t making much progress.
