After a fairly seamless, high-profile launch in Pittsburgh, the rollout in San Francisco was bumpy right from the beginning. First, the DMV issued a warning to Uber that it had not obtained the proper testing permits for its pilot program. Then, a few hours after the trial began, The Verge reported that one of Uber’s cars ran a red light, nearly hitting a (human-driven) Lyft car.
Uber reviewed the case and determined it was actually the fault of the human driver sitting in the car—remember, Uber still has human drivers who can “take over” from the self-driving system as needed.
Then there was the bike lane problem. Uber’s vehicles had a nasty habit of driving into San Francisco’s bike lanes without warning. This was not the fault of humans but a software error, claimed Uber, noting that the problem had not come up in Pittsburgh, which also has a robust cycling network. Uber pledged to fix it.
Wasn't that long ago:
Arizona has since built upon the governor’s action to become a favored partner for the tech industry, turning itself into a live laboratory for self-driving vehicles. Over the past two years, Arizona deliberately cultivated a rules-free environment for driverless cars, unlike dozens of other states that have enacted autonomous vehicle regulations over safety, taxes and insurance.
...
Mr. Ducey, a native of Ohio who came to Arizona for college and then stayed, was elected governor in 2014 on a pro-business and innovation platform. He quickly lifted restrictions on medical testing for companies like Theranos, a Silicon Valley company that later faced scrutiny for its business practices. He also touted Apple’s decision to build a $2 billion data center in the state.
“We can beat California in every metric; lower taxes, less regulations, cost of living, quality of life,” he said several months after he became governor.
Oh well.
PHOENIX, Ariz., March 26 (Reuters) - The governor of Arizona on Monday suspended Uber’s ability to test self-driving cars on public roads in the state following a fatal crash last week that killed a 49-year-old woman pedestrian.
In a letter sent to Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi and shared with the media, Governor Doug Ducey said he found a video released by police of the crash “disturbing and alarming, and it raises many questions about the ability of Uber to continue testing in Arizona.”
Good calls, bro. All of them.
...I wrote this last night, but the local fishwrap is on it, also, too.