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Autonomous car makes its first civilian victim

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Magazine Issue: 
Digital insurance, the new Eldorado [3]
Magazine date: 
Mar 2018
On Monday, March 19, 2018, an "Uber" self-driving car hit a woman crossing one of the streets of Tempe, near Phoenix, Arizona (United Stats). The victim died at a local hospital as a result of her injuries.

Uber causes the first fatal accident in the history of the autonomous car

autonomous car Uber

Uber is one of the car makers that perform their self-driving tests on American roads. These tests are taking place in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Toronto and Phoenix, the scene of the first fatal accident in the history of self-driving cars [4].

Following this tragic accident, the manufacturer has suspended all tests. Several security issues arise. Indeed, even if the victim was crossing the street outside the crosswalk, the autonomous taxi had to stop or to swerve from hear. In addition, a driver (engineer) was behind the wheel at the time of the accident. He was supposed to take control in case of a problem.

Will the 1st fatal accident caused by an autonomous car have an impact on regulation?

As of April 2, 2018, the presence of a natural person behind the wheel of an autonomous car will no longer be required in California. In Michigan, Nevada and Arizona, the step has been taken a long time ago.

Following the fatal accident caused by the autonomous taxi Uber, the regulation is likely to become firmer. After all, the main goal of driverless cars is to reduce the number of fatal crashes. This incident is likely to put the brakes on a booming industry.

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Thu, 22/03/2018 - 15:31

Source URL: https://www.atlas-mag.net/en/article/autonomous-car-makes-its-first-civilian-victim

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[3] https://www.atlas-mag.net/en/issue/digital-insurance-the-new-eldorado
[4] https://www.atlas-mag.net/en/article/driverless-cars-will-soon-hit-the-roads
[5] http://www.atlas-mag.net/en/article/the-us-administration-hopes-to-reduce-traffic-accidents-thanks-to-autonomous-cars
[6] http://www.atlas-mag.net/en/article/new-law-facilitating-autonomous-car-tests