TU-TESL

• 22

On November 19 local time, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a meeting to officially announce the cause of Uber's accident last March. In March 2018, in Tempe, Arizona, USA, a Uber self driving car drove at a speed of 61 km / h in an area with a speed limit of 56 km / h, collided with a 49 year old female pedestrian crossing the road, resulting in the death of the latter. This is the world's first real "self driving car homicide.". Uber suspended all tests since the accident, until it resumed autopilot testing in Pittsburgh at the end of last year and implemented new restrictions and safety measures. Previously, NTSB disclosed that the accident vehicle had obvious software defects, and the software failed to correctly identify the dead as pedestrians, and did not consider pedestrians crossing the road. Uber also disabled the automatic emergency braking system on its modified Volvo XC90 test car. Police said that despite the ban on drivers using mobile devices, Uber security drivers were watching TV programs on their mobile phones minutes before the accident, which meant the accident was "completely avoidable.". NTSB said the Uber team that tests self driving cars on public streets has no independent security departments, perfect safety plans, and standard operating procedures. NTSB chairman Robert Samwater (Robert Sumwalt) said that the automatic driving system deployed by Uber and human drivers were misconduct, all of which were attributed to a deeper problem, that is, there is an invalid safety culture in Uber. In addition, the Commission plans to determine the need for "safety risk management requirements for testing self driving vehicles on public roads," marking a broader issue of how to conduct advanced vehicle testing and US government regulation. NTSB's findings are likely to have strong repercussions in the industry. At present, the auto driving industry is closely watched, attracting huge investment from companies such as general motors and parent companies. These participants are trying to change the mode of transportation by putting the autopilot into commercial use.