Uber Suspends Self-Driving Vehicle Program After Accident
Uber Suspends Self-Driving Vehicle Program After Accident
Police say another car failed to yield to the Uber; no
one was seriously injured
Uber suspended its self-driving vehicle program after an
Arizona accident in which another car failed to yield.
By GREG BENSINGER Updated March 25, 2017 5:33 p.m. ET
Uber Technologies Inc. said on Saturday it is suspending
testing of its autonomous vehicles after one of the autos was involved in an
accident in Tempe, Ariz., a dramatic halt to one of the most high-profile
self-driving programs.
The ride-hailing company is pulling vehicles from streets
in Pittsburgh, Tempe and California while it investigates the incident in which
a Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicle operated by Uber was upended.
Tempe Police Sgt. Josie Montenegro said the Uber vehicle
wasn’t responsible for the accident and that a regular vehicle failed to yield.
She said no serious injuries were reported.
The Uber vehicle was in self-driving mode with no
customers on board when the incident occurred. “We are continuing to look into
this incident,” an Uber spokeswoman said.
Like many technology companies, including rival Alphabet
Inc.’s Waymo, Uber is investing heavily in self-driving vehicles with the
belief they will reduce fatalities and improve fuel and traffic efficiency by
limiting human error.
But the technology is still many years from being ready.
Uber, for instance, typically puts two employees in each vehicle, one in the
driver seat who can take control when needed and another with a computer to
monitor the auto’s efficacy. Customers could also hail the self-driving cars in
the test program, accompanied by Uber employees.
Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car unit has logged more
than 2.5 million miles on U.S. roadways, more than any other company, though it
hasn’t opened them up yet for regular customers.
Waymo cars, which mostly cruise streets in and around
Alphabet’s hometown of Mountain View, Calif., have reported several minor
accidents but most weren’t the fault of the self-driving vehicles. In February,
a Waymo car was at fault when it hit a bus, but the vehicles were traveling
slowly and no one was injured.
For Uber, the technology is considered essential for the
$68 billion company to eventually reach consistent profitability as it will eliminate
the expense of paying legions of drivers.
Uber began testing the autonomous vehicles in Tempe last
month after California regulators revoked the cars’ registrations because the
startup failed to get a permit to operate them. Uber has since paid $150 to obtain
a permit for two vehicles in California. It has been testing in Pittsburgh
since last September.
Uber’s autonomous vehicle program faces perhaps a bigger
test than a traffic accident. Alphabet has sued the ride-hailing company,
alleging Anthony Levandowski, a former executive at Alphabet’s Google, stole
corporate secrets to found his self-driving big rig company Otto, which was
acquired by Uber last year.
Alphabet is seeking an injunction to halt Uber’s use of
the technology. Uber is expected to respond on the injunction in early April
and respond to Alphabet’s lawsuit later in the month. Uber has said the claims
are a “baseless attempt to slow down a competitor” and that it would defends
itself in court.
The Tempe accident is the latest setback for Uber, which
in recent weeks has faced accusations of permitting sexual harassment and
sexism in the workplace, a string of executive departures and a rare apology
from Chief Executive Travis Kalanick after an embarrassing video leaked of him
aggressively confronting a driver.
Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger@wsj.com
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