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According to this article on MSN:
Police in Tempe, Arizona said evidence showed the "safety" driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber was distracted and streaming a television show on her phone right up until about the time of a fatal accident in March, deeming the crash that rocked the nascent industry "entirely avoidable."
A 318-page report from the Tempe Police Department, released late on Thursday in response to a public records request, said the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, repeatedly looked down and not at the road, glancing up just a half second before the car hit 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing the street at night.
According to the report, Vasquez could face charges of vehicle manslaughter. Police said that, based on testing, the crash was "deemed entirely avoidable" if Vasquez had been paying attention.
Police obtained records from Hulu, an online service for streaming television shows and movies, which showed Vasquez's account was playing the television talent show "The Voice" the night of the crash for about 42 minutes, ending at 9:59 p.m., which "coincides with the approximate time of the collision," the report says.
It is not clear if Vasquez will be charged, and police submitted their findings to county prosecutors, who will make the determination.
(Score: 1) by AlphaSnail on Sunday June 24 2018, @12:27AM (2 children)
If I run into the street without looking and get hit by a car - I killed myself. If I on foot moved into traffic on purpose expecting it to swerve around me but it fails to do so and I am struck and killed, I killed myself. But if a robot car is driving all of a sudden, it's the cars fault? All of this "the tech isn't safe yet" discussion ignores that this person made a suicidal move regardless of how the vehicle was operating. I will be more concerned when I hear stories of self driving cars jumping up on curbs and killing people on the sidewalk or driving off of bridges killing the occupants. If your going to run into the street in front of moving vehicles and you die well tough. If it was an 18 wheeler would you expect it to stop on a dime when someone darted in front of it because they didn't understand the concept of look both ways? Is the automated vehicle supposed to swerve and possibly cause someone else to have a potentially fatal accident just to get out of the way of someone who cares so little about life they risk their own and other's just so they can get across the street without looking first? I say unless the robot car swerved into you from its otherwise straight trajectory you are at fault for getting in the way. Can we make that a law? If you get in front of a moving vehicle of your own free will then you are at fault irregardless of whatever is driving it be it man or machine. The punishment can be your injuries, how's that? I think people are picturing these cars mowing down children chasing balls in the street but places that cars drive fast aren't places children should be playing in the first place, and where they are the robot cars should be driving slow enough to easily stop so I don't think the 'danger' is as real as people are projecting.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 24 2018, @12:40AM
Drivers, human or otherwise, are expected to avoid hitting pedestrians.
This vehicle, as configured, had the ability to avoid hitting the pedestrian but WAS DISABLED FROM DOING SO by Uber.
If I place blame anywhere, it is on Uber.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 24 2018, @01:10AM
> If I run into the street without looking and get hit by a car - I killed myself.
While I tend to agree with you, that is not the way the law is written in many areas. Hitting a pedestrian (no matter what they were doing) is first the fault of the motor vehicle operator.