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: 2) by Fluffeh on Monday June 25 2018, @04:30AM
You have to keep in mind though, that this is Uber we're talking about. Not exactly a company well known for trying to "do things right" but rather "do it cheap, then improve only if you HAVE to".
They would be paying bottom dollar for the "tester" and giving the minimum training required to get what they think is needed to put the car on the road. Their entire existence thus far could be summed up by "scale of economy and try to overpower anything else in court". This is just another bump in their lawyers billings - and with all likelihood, they will try to throw their "tester" under the bus (oh, the irony of that statement) to get out of paying extra damages or having any additional restrictions placed on their driverless testing programme.