autonomous car accidents News

Uber Backup Driver Faces Homicide Charges in Fatal 2018 Arizona Crash

The back-up safety driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber Technologies test vehicle that struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018 was charged with negligent homicide, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Rafael Vasquez, age 46, who is …

The Road Ahead for Autonomous Cars and Auto Insurance

The death of a pedestrian who was struck by an autonomous vehicle in Tempe, Arizona, has brought fresh scrutiny to the accelerating development of self-driving cars. The accident on March 18 is bound to be studied exhaustively, both to determine …

Drive to Autonomous Vehicles Slows After Series of Accidents

A series of high-profile accidents involving self-driving cars are slowing the mad rush into the autonomous vehicles business, according to a report issued Wednesday. The accidents, some of them fatal, have ignited a debate about how to regulate the safety …

Safety Worry: Keeping Humans In and Around Autonomous Vehicles Engaged

After partially faulting Tesla Inc.’s automation system for a 2016 fatal crash, U.S. safety investigators last year called on carmakers to do more to ensure drivers stay engaged as next-generation cars start to steer themselves. Since then, the National Transportation …

After Uber Crash, Florida Still Welcomes Free-Range Robot Cars

Florida has been trying to lure self-driving cars to the state for testing on public roads, shaping laws that are much more lax than places like California and New York. The fatal accident last week in Arizona, another state that’s …

Liability and Legal Questions Follow Uber Autonomous Car Fatal Accident

The death of a pedestrian hit by a self-driving Uber vehicle in Arizona this week could offer a test of who can be held legally responsible for accidents when a human is no longer at the wheel, legal experts said. …

Tesla Autopilot Crash with Parked Fire Truck in Los Angeles Under Investigation

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will investigate an accident involving a Tesla Inc. Model S sedan that rear-ended a firetruck on a freeway near Los Angeles on Monday, the agency said. The agency will send two investigators to conduct …

Driver-Assist Technology Could Lead to Deteriorating Driver Skills, Researchers Say

If a car can hit the brakes in an emergency and check blind spots, will that make worse drivers? Increasingly, automakers are worrying it may. Driver-assist technology that keeps cars in their lanes, maintains a safe distance from other vehicles, …

‘Self-Driving’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Hands-Free’ – Lessons of Tesla Autopilot Crash in China

Tesla said last week that one of its cars had crashed in Beijing while in ‘autopilot’ mode, with the driver contending sales staff sold the function as ‘self-driving’, overplaying its actual capabilities. Tesla said it had reviewed data to confirm …

Driverless Car Accidents Pile Up As They Obey Laws, Humans Don’t So Much

The self-driving car, that cutting-edge creation that’s supposed to lead to a world without accidents, is achieving the exact opposite right now: The vehicles have racked up a crash rate double that of those with human drivers. The glitch? They …