UPDATED 21:47 EDT / MARCH 26 2017

EMERGING TECH

Uber suspends self-driving car program after Arizona crash (updated)

Uber Technologies Inc.’s run of bad news just won’t stop.

This weekend, the ridesharing giant was forced to suspend its self-driving vehicle program after one of its vehicles was involved in an accident. (Update: On Monday, Uber said it’s resuming the program in San Francisco, partly because it doesn’t currently transport passengers, but activities remain on hold in Arizona and Pittsburgh.)

The Uber self-driving vehicle, operating in autonomous mode, ended up on its side following what is described as a “high-impact” crash in Tempe, Arizona, Friday evening. According to reports, the Uber vehicle was not responsible for the accident as it was due to another vehicle failing to yield, and there were no serious injuries.

Uber spokesman Chelsea Kohler confirmed the accident, saying that neither driver suffered serious injuries and that the company was “continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no back-seat passengers in the vehicle.”

Nonetheless, Kohler added that Uber has suspended the testing of its self-driving vehicles in Arizona pending the results of the investigation of the accident, and that they had also suspended testing in Pittsburgh and San Francisco for at least one day but possibly longer.

The crash follows a report last week that Uber’s self-driving car fleet was accident-prone and that the vehicles couldn’t go a mile without human intervention. Those interventions were said to be required in order to prevent “accidental disengagements, end-of-route disengagements and early takeovers.”

While Uber seems not at fault in this case, the symbolism of an Uber self-driving vehicle crashed on its side couldn’t come at a worse time for the company. The last few months have seen a near-constant stream of negative news, from legal action taken by Waymo Inc. alleging stolen technology, the loss of Uber’s president, a sexual harassment scandal, allegations of racism and most recently charges that executives at the company visited an “escort bar in South Korea.”

Photo: Dllu/Wikimedia Commons

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