The company promises it will take a safer approach.
Uber stopped testing self-driving cars on public roads after one of its prototypes struck and killed a pedestrian in the Phoenix area last March. The ride-hailing giant has promised to take a safer approach as it requests permission from lawmakers to resume testing in the state of Pennsylvania.
Two safety drivers will ride on board of every autonomous prototype, according to a report sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and obtained by Automotive News. Adding a second driver will — in theory — ensure that at least one of them is looking at the road at any given moment.
The company will also enable an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system at all times. This addresses concerns that the standard AEB technology found in a wide variety of new cars would have detected the pedestrian struck by Uber’s Volvo XC90 and at least tried to mitigate the impact; Uber’s prototype didn’t see the pedestrian and its AEB system was switched off.
Finally, Uber promises to monitor employees more strictly. There’s no word on how it plans to do that, though the company noted it will implement real-time third-party monitoring of safety drivers. It also said it has made its training process more intensive.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) has received Uber’s request and hasn’t decided whether to issue the permit needed to test autonomous cars.
The company promises it will take a safer approach.
Uber stopped testing self-driving cars on public roads after one of its prototypes struck and killed a pedestrian in the Phoenix area last March. The ride-hailing giant has promised to take a safer approach as it requests permission from lawmakers to resume testing in the state of Pennsylvania.
Two safety drivers will ride on board of every autonomous prototype, according to a report sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and obtained by Automotive News. Adding a second driver will -- in theory -- ensure that at least one of them is looking at the road at any given moment.
The company will also enable an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system at all times. This addresses concerns that the standard AEB technology found in a wide variety of new cars would have detected the pedestrian struck by Uber's Volvo XC90 and at least tried to mitigate the impact; Uber's prototype didn't see the pedestrian and its AEB system was switched off.
Finally, Uber promises to monitor employees more strictly. There's no word on how it plans to do that, though the company noted it will implement real-time third-party monitoring of safety drivers. It also said it has made its training process more intensive.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) has received Uber's request and hasn't decided whether to issue the permit needed to test autonomous cars.
