The National Transportation Safety Board is opening an investigation into the fatal accident involving one of Uber’s self-driving cars in Tempe, Arizona.
NTSB sending team to investigate Uber crash in Tempe, Arizona. More to come.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) March 19, 2018
Uber’s self-driving car accident that resulted in a woman’s death raises a number of questions about insurance and liability. Although the car was in self-driving mode, there was a safety driver behind the wheel who theoretically should have been able to intervene.
Uber has since halted its self-driving car tests in Arizona, Pittsburgh and California. Last year, the NTSB looked into a 2016 accident involving Tesla’s Autopilot system in Florida. The NTSB partially faulted Tesla for the fatal crash, saying the system operated as intended but that the driver’s inattentiveness, due to over-reliance on the Autopilot system, resulted in the accident.
In an earlier statement to TechCrunch, an Uber spokesperson said, “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation of this incident.”
