Uber self-driving car death could have been avoided, say driverless vehicle experts
Driverless vehicle experts have weighed in on the self-driving car crash that killed a pedestrian, and they claim the Uber vehicle had time to evade the collision
THE UBER self-driving car crash that resulted in the death of a mum-of-two could have been avoided, claim experts.
Police are still investigating the incident, and have released a graphic dashcam video showing the moment Elaine Herzberg, 49, was hit by the Volvo SUV.
Though the car was in self-driving mode, a driver (44-year old Rafaela Vasquez) was present in the front seat that Sunday night.
But the police chief of Tempe, Arizona, where the fatal crash occurred, said there was little the safety driver could have done to intervene.
Chief of Police Sylvia Moir also said that Uber was likely not at fault for the accident either.
Now autonomous driving experts are weighing in on the case, and they're convinced the car could've done more to avoid the collision.
Cortica, a company that develops artificial intelligence for self-driving cars, analysed the shocking dash cam footage and provided its evaluation to CNET.
The company said its system detected Herzberg 0.9 seconds before impact when the car was about 50 feet away.
Cortica's CEO Igal Raichelgauz said that would've been enough time for an autonomous vehicle to react and save Herzberg's life.
"The advantage of machine response time and control, the right actions could be made to certainly mitigate the damage," Raichelgauz said.
Tempe police's preliminary investigation found the Uber car was driving at 38 mph in a 35 mph zone and did not attempt to brake or swerve when Herzberg walked in front of it.
Tempe Police Sergeant Ronald Elcock said: "The pedestrian was outside of the crosswalk. As soon as she walked into the lane of traffic she was struck."
Driverless cars are fitted with sensors that can "see" everything around them, including traffic, road signs, and pedestrians.
A computer system then dictates what actions the car takes.
This set-up is supposed to work as well at night as during the day.
"Although this video isn't the full picture, it strongly suggests a failure by Uber's automated driving system," Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles, told CNET.
"The victim is obscured by darkness -- but she is moving on an open road. Lidar and radar absolutely should have detected her and classified her as something other than a stationary object."
Other academics have also laid the blame on Uber's self-driving car.
AP reported that experts say it appears there was enough time and distance to avoid the fatal collision.
Daniel Sperling, director of the Institute for Transportation Studies at the University of California Davis, said: "It seems it should have detected her.
"It seems unlikely that a human driver would have done better. We do want AVs to do better than us and the potential exists."
For now Uber has temporarily suspended all testing of driverless cars and says it is "fully cooperating" with authorities.
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"The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine's loved ones," an Uber spokesperson said in a statement.
"Our cars remain grounded, and we're assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can."
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