On March 19th a woman walking her bicycle in Tempe Arizona was struck and killed by an autonomous automobile. She was walking her bicycle across the road when she was struck and killed. The car was traveling at 40 mph. Evidently the car recognized her as an individual on a bicycle and its logic decided that there wasn't a cause to slow or stop. The video footage from cameras show that the safety driver was looking down when the accident occurred. So it appears the logic is a bit flawed, there's a surprise. I first read this in the latest issue of American Motorcyclist yesterday. The American Motorcyclist Association has been tracking this stuff to make sure we don't get forgotten as this technology develops. Looking up articles on this accident I learned that the state of Arizona is a regulation free zone. The state wanted to attract jobs and money associated with this developing technology so companies can go there and run the cars on the road all they want where ever they want. As of 2015 the only stipulation is they must have a safety driver to override the system in a dangerous situation, earlier this month that stipulation was dropped. So beware there are driverless cars moving around Arizona. Elaine Herzberg, 49 at time of death, has the dubious honor of being the first person killed by an autonomous car.
Steven
Steven