Uber self-driving test car ...pedestrian death

[93Regina]

Uber self-driving test car involved in accident resulting in pedestrian death
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The Uber SUV was driving northbound, and a woman crossed in its path outside of a crosswalk, at which point she was struck by the vehicle. She was later taken to hospital, as first reported by local Arizona ABC news affiliate ABC 15, where she died as a result of her injuries.
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Note -

Uber plans to buy up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo, marking the transition of the U.S. firm from an app used to summon a taxi to the owner and operator of a fleet of cars.
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Combining Volvo’s cars with Uber’s self-driving system builds on their nearly three-year relationship and comes as Uber’s autonomous driving unit has been hit by a lawsuit over trade secrets and the departure of top talent.

[jimmy57]

Uber XC90's use their proprietary hardware and not the Volvo gear. Volvo already released a statement.

[JimBee]

Was the human driver-assistant distracted to inattention by the presumption that the autonomous rig could handle itself? How is this similar to or different from talking on a phone while driving?

If so, what are the legal implications? Will the driver-attendant ("assistant"?) be held solely liable as the presumed fail-safe backup or will the liability be split between the technology producer and the backup driver? At issue, I think, is degree of attention expected.
Or, will the cyclist be blamed for attempting to cross outside of a crosswalk? What would that say about "the pedestrian has the right of way", probably mediated by "in most reasonable circumstances" (only in a crosswalk?). Was the cyclist distracted by head-phones? What would an attentive driver of a standard vehicle be expected to do in an exactly similar instance?

We'll soon know when the decedent's family files their inevitable lawsuit.

Am I the only doubter who dreads this technology and has been uneasily waiting for another autonomous vehicle tragedy to start a case law dossier? Some accidents are highly probable; how many are acceptable?

[mrbrian200]

I would be interested in seeing the onboard video captured by the vehicle automation system. Some peds are getting really bold and stupid ever since some idiot thought of, and cities started installing these pedestrian crossing zones where no stop sign or traffic signals exist, but pedestrians can walk right out in front of a moving vehicle without even bothering to look carrying a legally absolute right of way (afforded to the pedestrian).

The problem is so many people really aren't that bright and get confused thinking as a pedestrian they have the right of way at all times everywhere, crosswalk or not, even against a 'do not walk' traffic signal.

Just saw one not an hour ago walking back from the store. Location detailed for the couple of people floating around the board who would be familiar with this particular neighborhood in Chicago I'm visiting last few weeks. I was waiting for the light to turn to cross Hollywood Ave at Kenmore. Note traffic on Hollywood is two blocks past where traffic dumps off Lake Shore Drive: LSD expressway ends, traffic continues onto Hollywood Ave. Dude walks up from behind me, stops for about 5 seconds, decides he doesn't want to wait and walks across Hollywood right into heavy traffic (traffic on Hollywood had a green light). Brakes jammed...horns honking. Dude glaring at cars like 'go ahead hit me I'll sue you'. Boggles the mind. Not a week ago I was waiting to cross Bryn Mawr at Winthrop. A guy walks out of the Starbucks on that corner and proceeds across Bryn Mawr against a do not walk signal. Same thing...cars jamming on brakes...horns honking. The dude friggin' raised the bird as he crossed... like how dare you honk at me, shut up hit me and I'll sue you. When I lived here in the 90's-early 2000s (before these pedestrian right of way crossings/laws) peds didn't act like this. If they got hit it was because they were drunk or not paying attention. Granted I lived down in Lincoln Park, it's a little different crowd down there, not so heavily populated by 'permanent scowl sour puss hate their life everyone and everything' types that Edgewater is chock full of. But still...

[93Regina]

Was the human driver-assistant distracted to inattention by the presumption that the autonomous rig could handle itself?

Each state can have different perspectives....in California,

Both pedestrians and motorists have to exercise due care and caution while on the road. Under the California Vehicle Code section 21950, drivers are to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing on a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. A driver approaching a pedestrian on a marked or unmarked crosswalk is expected to reduce speed and take other actions necessary to safeguard the pedestrian.

At the same time, a pedestrian also owes a duty of care not to leave a curb or other safe zone and walk into the path of oncoming vehicles that are so close they would constitute an immediate danger.

Negligence is presumed when a driver violates a statute or regulation and the violation proximately causes death, injury or damage to property.

Pedestrians Injured While Jaywalking

California law prohibits jaywalking. Pedestrians on a roadway other than a marked crosswalk should yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic.

However, a pedestrian injured by a motorist while jaywalking is not defenseless. The motorist still has a duty to exercise due care even if the pedestrian is outside a demarcated crosswalk.

If a pedestrian jaywalks and is involved in an accident, liability may be shared if:

The driver was over speeding
The driver was driving while intoxicated
The driver was driving while distracted
The driver was driving without paying attention to the road.

[93Regina]

Exclusive: Tempe police chief says early probe shows no fault by Uber
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Traveling at 38 mph in a 35 mph zone on Sunday night, the Uber self-driving car made no attempt to brake, according to the Police Department’s preliminary investigation.
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From viewing the videos, “it’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway,” Moir said. The police have not released the videos.
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“I won’t rule out the potential to file charges against the (backup driver) in the Uber vehicle,” Moir said.

But if the robot car itself were found at fault? “This is really new ground we’re venturing into,” she said.
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California - 38 mph in a 35 mph zone - The driver was over speeding??? Or the Robot???

[matthew1]

California - 38 mph in a 35 mph zone - The driver was over speeding??? Or the Robot???

[93Regina]

Dashcam video shows Uber driver was looking down moments before self-driving car killed pedestrian
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However, the interior view clearly shows the driver looking down at some kind of screen in the seconds right before the crash, only glancing up and seeing the pedestrian at the last second.
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The interior view also doesn’t show what the driver was looking at. If he’s monitoring functions to do with the self-driving features on the vehicle, then questions need to be asked about whether one human can safely monitor the road and the vehicle’s computers. If he was checking a cellphone or something unrelated to driving, then Arizona police should likely find him personally responsible for the crash.

[youtube][/youtube]

[matthew1]

The headlights look like they're aimed far too low. Nevermind the driver's activities.

[93Regina]

headlights look like they're aimed far to low

"The video also gives the impression that the pedestrian couldn’t be seen at all before she was directly in the path of the headlights. That’s impossible to disprove, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the human eye has a much better dynamic range (ability to see both dark and light subjects at the same time) as cameras, especially the low-resolution cameras we’re looking at. Just because you can’t see the pedestrian before they’re in the headlights, doesn’t mean a driver observing the road wouldn’t be able to see."