Tempe Police has released footage of the accident in which a cyclist was killed by a self-driving Volvo XC90 owned by Uber, on March 18.
The video reveals the actual moment of impact, shot using a dashboard-mounted camera, as well as the safety driver’s reaction, or better said, lack of reaction. Emergency services arrived at the scene shortly after and rushed the pedestrian to hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late for the woman who was crossing the street in a non-designated area, as she passed away.
It’s worth stating that at the time of the accident, the Uber-operated Volvo XC90 was in self-driving mode, according to the police.
Following the incident, Uber suspended its autonomous vehicle program in Tempe, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto, announcing that they are cooperating with the authorities on the ongoing investigation.
Toyota also suspended its own tests of self-driving cars on public roads, because of the “emotional effect” that the Uber crash may have had on their test drivers. The Japanese automaker was reportedly still deciding whether it will purchase Uber’s autonomous software, one week before the fatal accident, and hasn’t announced anything on the subject since then.
Warning: Graphic content below!
VIDEO
Tempe Police Vehicular Crimes Unit is actively investigating
the details of this incident that occurred on March 18th. We will provide updated information regarding the investigation once it is available. pic.twitter.com/2dVP72TziQ— Tempe Police (@TempePolice) March 21, 2018