Yahoo Autos Arizona Creates Self-Driving-Car Watchdog Group in Wake of Pedestrian Death
Nearly seven months after an automated vehicle killed a pedestrian in Arizona, the state's governor, Doug Ducey, has signed a new executive order establishing a testing facility and calling for clearer safety procedures for testing on public roads.
The order creates a new public/private entity, the Institute for Automated Mobility, which includes the governor's office; state departments of transportation, public safety, and commerce; several state universities; and Intel. Uber, which was found responsible for the death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg after the crash on March 18 in Tempe, was not named as a participant in the group. In addition to building a 2.1-mile test track, the group will "focus on the liability, regulatory, and safety implications of automated vehicles and will work to develop standards and best practices for the industry to follow," according to a press release.
Ducey signed the latest executive order on Thursday, citing a need to "integrate" autonomous-vehicle testing with police and first responders, "modernize" existing traffic regulations to "accommodate" these vehicles, and create a simulation lab to analyze and predict crash scenarios. It is unclear what the state's existing safety committee will contribute under the new executive order or whether any other companies operating in Arizona, such as General Motors and Waymo, will become part of the new Institute.
Ducey signed an executive order in 2015 allowing automated-vehicle testing on public roads near university campuses and called for an eight-person safety committee. In 2017, Uber announced a self-driving pilot in Tempe using as many as 200 modified Volvo XC90 SUVs with Uber staff behind the wheel. Weeks before the fatal crash in March, Ducey issued a second executive order allowing public testing without any drivers inside the vehicles. He also defined some safety parameters, such as having the transportation department revoke licenses for companies that can't stop their cars automatically if their systems fail. Herzberg was struck at night by one of Uber's cars operating in its self-driving mode while she crossed a road with her bicycle. The driver was present, did not react, and was looking at a phone at the time of the crash. Uber had also deactivated the car's factory emergency braking systems. As of May, the ride-sharing company no longer operates any self-driving cars in Arizona.
Still absent any formal regulation or enforcement-a philosophy strongly supported by updated guidance the federal Department of Transportation released last week-the state of Arizona is instead relying on a white paper published by Mobileye, the Israeli software company Intel purchased for $15.3 billion in August 2017. The company says its own "responsibility sensitive safety" plan can "100% guarantee" that it "will not make mistakes" with regards to how the software interprets how the vehicle should or should not act. Ducey's order specifies no timelines for the state's goals in advancing safety or technological innovation.
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