NTSB: Autonomous Uber Vehicles Crashed 37 Times Before Fatal Accident

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has disclosed Uber’s autonomous test fleet was involved in 37 crashes over the 18-month period leading up to last year’s fatal accident in Tempe, AZ. Having collected more data than ever, the board plans to meet on November 19th to determine the probable cause and address ongoing safety concerns regarding self-driving vehicles.

Reuters reports that the NTSB plans to issue comprehensive safety recommendations to the industry, as well demand oversight from governmental regulators, in the near future.

Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident in Arizona are as unique as they are complicated — ditto for most other crashes involving AVs. While Uber’s test mule failed to identify the pedestrian in time, leading to her death, she was also walking her bicycle on a particularly awkward stretch of road. “The system design did not include a consideration for jaywalking pedestrians,” the NTSB said.

The vehicle’s safety driver was also totally engrossed in their phone. Local authorities said the crash would have been avoidable if the backup driver had bother to look up — something that’s tragically obvious from viewing the dash-cam footage. This also helped prosecutors decide Uber would not be criminally liable for the crash. However, the NTSB identified numerous issues with the autonomous systems the company had installed at the time.

From Reuters:

The NTSB reported at least two prior crashes in which Uber test vehicles may not have identified roadway hazards. The NTSB said between September 2016 and March 2018, there were 37 crashes of Uber vehicles in autonomous mode, including 33 that involved another vehicle striking test vehicles.

In one incident, the test vehicle struck a bent bicycle lane post that partially occupied the test vehicle’s lane of travel. In another incident, the operator took control to avoid a rapidly approaching vehicle that entered its lane of travel. The vehicle operator steered away and struck a parked car.

NTSB said Uber conducted simulation of sensor data from the Arizona crash with the revised software and told the agency the new software would have been able to detect the pedestrian 88 meters (289 feet) or 4.5 seconds before impact. The car’s system would have started to brake 4 seconds before impact.

But the car did detect her. It just had trouble recognizing what kind of object she was and failed to make a decision while the safety driver wasn’t paying attention. Uber now applies maximum emergency braking to prevent a similar situation from happening, as indicated above.

Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group didn’t have an operational safety division or dedicated safety manager prior to the crash, let alone an official safety plan. But it’s not legally obligated to have one under current AV laws, so why would it have bothered? Hindsight is 20/20 — not foresight.

Sarah Abboud, a spokeswoman for Uber’s self-driving unit, said the company deeply regretted the crash that killed Elaine Herzberg and has “adopted critical program improvements to further prioritize safety.”

“We deeply value the thoroughness of the NTSB’s investigation into the crash and look forward to reviewing their recommendations.”

[Image: Uber/Volvo]