Uber suspends Arizona driverless car program

In a recent car crash incident during one of Uber’s test-drive operations for its self-driving car programs in Arizona, the ride-hailing company decided to temporarily suspend testing for autonomous vehicle unit.

At present, the results for the investigation of the accident is still pending, with only the suspension from Uber the key detail announced. The accident left the test unit Volvo XC90 on its side, and it was reported that the vehicle was in self-driving mode when it crashed on the street on the time of the incident. According to initial investigations, another vehicle was involved in the accident, and was reportedly to have driven rashly on the road.

Although this was the situation at hand, some analysts still speculate whether Uber could have exerted more effort in avoiding the crash. Due to the present incident, Uber announced that it will temporarily pull out all of its self-driving cars off the ride during the span of the entire investigation of the accident.

Uber released a statement that said, “We are continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no back-seat passengers in the vehicle,” assuring investors that the incident did not end in drastic results.

In additional reports from the Tempe police department, it was reported that the Uber Volvo utility vehicle was driving south in McClintock Drive and that “another vehicle failed to yield while turning left” that eventually resulted in a collision between the two. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported from the car crash.

This accident comes in a time wherein Uber has been experiencing a series of challenges both to the management of the company and the development and testing of its self-driving cars subsidiary.

In just a span of a few months, Uber has already seen several problems rising, some of which include Google’s Waymo lawsuit over allegation of stolen self-driving car tech, CEO Travis Kalanick seen to have had heated argument with Uber driver, and several executives key employees leaving the company due to varying reasons.

Uber’s service in Arizona is the second launched by the company, after the first opening in Pittsburgh. Many believe that the operations in the region will likely remain suspended until investigations for the accident is completed.

The ride-hailing company is known to have been a bit aggressive in pursuing the development of self-driving car technology that will be used for the mass market.

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