Uber driverless car in fatal accident

Uber driverless car in fatal accident

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jcremonini

Original Poster:

2,100 posts

168 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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esxste

3,696 posts

107 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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All sympathies to the womans family... I can imagine what they're feeling right now. I hope the media leave them alone.

The question I posed even today in these forums will get tested: who takes responsibility for this? The person in the car? Uber?




Vanden Saab

14,186 posts

75 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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I doubt it will be any different to any other crash the car's insurance co. will pay out if it is shown to be at fault.

Jasandjules

69,988 posts

230 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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It was almost always going to happen. Though I must confess I was expecting a vehicle control failure which caused a fatality for a passenger.

Now, who is liable in criminal law for this death?

cptsideways

13,564 posts

253 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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Along with an observer/driver, does make you wonder what they were observing.

Not-The-Messiah

3,621 posts

82 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
esxste said:
All sympathies to the womans family... I can imagine what they're feeling right now. I hope the media leave them alone.

The question I posed even today in these forums will get tested: who takes responsibility for this? The person in the car? Uber?
There will no doubt be plenty of evidence as the car will be full of cameras so fault should easily be discovered. I think as its still in its test stage all these cars still need a operator in who should be ready to take control if things start going wrong. So it's them who will be held responsible if they didn't take control when they should have done.


loafer123

15,455 posts

216 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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No-one believes that self-driving cars will not have accidents.

What is important is that they have less accidents than cars driven by humans.

If they do (and they will) then insurance will be cheaper (probably embedded in subscription for car services) and fewer people will be killed and injured.


Rovinghawk

13,300 posts

159 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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loafer123 said:
What is important is that they have less accidents than cars driven by humans.
That's probably not a high priority to the family of the deceased.

The Selfish Gene

5,519 posts

211 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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wow - what was the idiot monitoring behind the wheel doing?

it was only a matter of time.

Jimmy Recard

17,540 posts

180 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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Do we know if it was a Ford involved in the accident?

Otherwise Ford might get a bit upset at the picture of the Mondeo on the story! It could make it look like Ford's fault

loafer123

15,455 posts

216 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
Rovinghawk said:
loafer123 said:
What is important is that they have less accidents than cars driven by humans.
That's probably not a high priority to the family of the deceased.
True, but it is for society as a whole.


anonymous-user

55 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
loafer123 said:
No-one believes that self-driving cars will not have accidents.

What is important is that they have less accidents than cars driven by humans.

If they do (and they will) then insurance will be cheaper (probably embedded in subscription for car services) and fewer people will be killed and injured.
You’re right. But I’m not sure anyone believes such an ‘obvious’ accident would happen so soon. I certainly wasn’t.

One would think that hitting someone on a crossing would be a fairly avoidable ‘accident’.

As for those criticising the minder, he or she may not have had much chance. If you’re going to take control every time a hazard is recognised, the system’s never going to be tested.

No consolation for the bereaved, I know.

DoubleD

22,154 posts

109 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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The Selfish Gene said:
wow - what was the idiot monitoring behind the wheel doing?

it was only a matter of time.
How do you know that he is an idiot? Has some evidence come out about the crash?

loafer123

15,455 posts

216 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
REALIST123 said:
One would think that hitting someone on a crossing would be a fairly avoidable ‘accident’.
BBC News say she was crossing the road, but not on a crossing.

REALIST123 said:
No consolation for the bereaved, I know.
Indeed.

anonymous-user

55 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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loafer123 said:
REALIST123 said:
One would think that hitting someone on a crossing would be a fairly avoidable ‘accident’.
BBC News say she was crossing the road, but not on a crossing.

REALIST123 said:
No consolation for the bereaved, I know.
Indeed.

Apologies, I stand corrected. I heard it on the radio, I thought it was on a crossing.

Russian Troll Bot

25,012 posts

228 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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The Selfish Gene said:
wow - what was the idiot monitoring behind the wheel doing?

it was only a matter of time.
Problem is you're expecting someone to sit and do nothing, but give 100% of their attention just in case something happens. Human nature says that's not going to happen.

Jader1973

4,043 posts

201 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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If someone was driving down the street at night and a pedestrian stepped out right in front of them, from behind a parked car say, chances are they wouldn’t be able to avoid them either.

So the risk is always there. As humans we don’t think about it, except to maybe slow down and move closer to the centre of the road. Programming that for self driving would be interesting: must slow down and leave a 1 metre gap if passing a parked car...what happens if that means crossing a solid centre line, or if there is another car coming the other way doing the same thing and they can’t both fit? Do they both just stop dead and drop in to manual mode? A human takes a calculated risk, a computer will just do what it is programmed to do.

All the developers can do is mitigate the risk as far as possible. It will never go away.


Blaster72

10,908 posts

198 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
Jimmy Recard said:
Do we know if it was a Ford involved in the accident?

Otherwise Ford might get a bit upset at the picture of the Mondeo on the story! It could make it look like Ford's fault
It was a Volvo, same kind that California stopped Uber from testing as they had a penchant for running red lights.

hutchst

3,706 posts

97 months

Monday 19th March 2018
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
It was almost always going to happen. Though I must confess I was expecting a vehicle control failure which caused a fatality for a passenger.

Now, who is liable in criminal law for this death?
Theresa May is the popular answer these days isn't it?

the tribester

2,428 posts

87 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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It's not clear how the collision occurred, only that the lady was crossing the road and not using a crossing.

If she'd stepped out, or run out, from between two parked vehicles into the Ubers path, with another vehicle maybe alongside the Uber, what chance would a human driver or observer have?

I'd need a bit more detail before making my mind up.