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GM's Cruise division is being investigated by the DoJ and SEC following a pedestrian accident
GM's driverless Cruise division is under investigation by both the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Tesla Autopilot under investigation following crash that killed three people
A recent Model S crash that killed three people has sparked another US probe into Tesla's Autopilot system.
EasyMile forced to suspend autonomous shuttle rides in 10 US states
US vehicle safety regulators have suspended operations for autonomous shuttle company EasyMile after a passenger in Ohio was injured in a braking incident last week. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the battery-powered bus service will be halted in 10 US states while it investigates "safety issues related to both vehicle technology and operations."
Uber self-driving car involved in fatal crash couldn't detect jaywalkers
Uber's self-driving car that struck and killed a pedestrian in March 2018 had serious software flaws, including the inability to recognize jaywalkers, according to the NTSB. The US safety agency said that Uber's software failed to recognize the 49-year-old victim, Elaine Herzberg, as a pedestrian crossing the street. It didn't calculate that it could potentially collide with her until 1.2 seconds before impact, at which point it was too late to brake.
Crash investigators fault 737 Max's design and approval process
The Boeing 737 Max had design flaws that were made worse by inadequate pilot training and a faulty approval process that led to the Lion Air accident, Indonesian investigators concluded. Their report confirms multiple stories about Boeing's faulty MCAS control system, why pilots weren't properly trained on it and how it got approved in the first place, according to the Washington Post. The October 29, 2018 accident killed eight crew and 181 passengers.
Volvo's new app tells you what to do after a car accident
Being in a car accident is stressful -- even the smallest bump can send your nerves sky high, and in times of extreme tension it's easy to forget the usual protocols. But Volvo is here to make the whole unfortunate experience a little easier to manage. The company has just released a mobile service, Car Accident Advisor, that will guide you through what to do in the event of a crash.
Tesla sued over fatal 2018 Model X crash with Autopilot engaged
Last spring, Apple engineer Walter Huang aka Wei Lun Huang died in a crash when his Tesla Model X hit a median on Highway 101 in Mountain View while the car's Autopilot driving assist was engaged. Now ABC 7 News and NBC Bay Area report that Huang's family has filed a lawsuit against Tesla and the state of California. According to ABC reporter Dan Noyes, the lawsuit claims Huang's Model X was "defective" in its design, and blames the state for not making safety repairs on a safety barrier within the required amount of time.
Boeing will release software updates for 737 Max jets by April
Following two air disasters months apart, Boeing has promised to release software updates for all of its Boeing 737 Max aircraft by next month at the latest. The updates were developed in the aftermath of the Lion Air Flight 610 disaster that killed 189 people, the company said, and include changes to flight control systems, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training.
Uber is out to prove its self-driving cars are safe
Uber put its autonomous vehicle testing on hold following a fatal accident involving one of its cars in Tempe, Arizona. But the company now plans to resume testing in Pittsburgh and maybe San Francisco in August, according to The Information. Additionally, Uber told its employees that it will put into place 16 safety recommendations that were proposed by an internal team. The company said in a statement last month that it had been working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board as it reviewed its safety practices and it also hired former NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart to advise its safety efforts.
Uber driver was streaming Hulu just before fatal self-driving crash
Late yesterday, the Tempe Police Department released a 318-page report on the self-driving accident in which an Uber vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian. The report shows that the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, was playing Hulu on her phone up until the approximate time of the crash. "We continue to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations while conducting our own internal safety review," an Uber spokesperson told Engadget. "We have a strict policy prohibiting mobile device usage for anyone operating our self-driving vehicles. We plan to share more on the changes we'll make to our program soon."
GM settles with motorcyclist over accident with self-driving Bolt
Earlier this year, Oscar Nilsson sued GM over an accident involving one of the company's self-driving Chevy Bolts. In December, according to Nilsson, the Bolt began changing lanes but then suddenly swerved back into Nilsson's lane, knocking him and his motorcycle over and causing injuries to his neck and shoulder. Now Nilsson and GM have reached a settlement. "The parties anticipate finalizing all details and filing a joint stipulation for dismissal with prejudice within thirty (30) days, or before June 29, 2018," says a court filing announcing the agreement.
Tesla Model S in Autopilot collides with police SUV
A Model S driver in Laguna Beach has crashed into a parked (and thankfully unoccupied) police SUV while her EV's Autopilot was reportedly engaged, sustaining minor injuries in the process. It's not yet known what the driver was doing at the time of the collision, but the incident is once again raising questions about Tesla's role in educating drivers about its semi-autonomous feature.
Uber shuts down self-driving operations in Arizona
After one of Uber's autonomous cars in Arizona collided with and killed a pedestrian back in March, the state's governor temporarily suspended the program pending investigation. But now the company is shutting down operations in Arizona entirely. An internal email obtained by Ars Technica, Uber executive Eric Meyhofer gave the news to its self-driving division, noting that the company hoped to start its autonomous testing in Pittsburgh this summer.
Tesla crash driver admits to checking phone while in Autopilot mode
Tesla is facing another National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe after a Model S crashed into the back of a fire truck while Autopilot was on -- but only to gather info about the incident. While it may take a while before the NHTSA reveals its findings, the South Jordan Police Department has already shared a report based on the data logs Tesla extracted from the vehicle. According to those logs, the driver kept on taking her hands off the wheel and would only put them back for a few seconds every time a visual alert flashed. The cops gave her a citation after the logs were released, and she admitted that she was looking at her phone and stepped on the brake pedal merely a few seconds before she crashed into the truck.
Tesla Autopilot was engaged during 60 MPH crash, driver tells police
By Mary Papenfuss The Tesla Autopilot system was engaged when a Tesla Model S sedan was crushed as it rammed into a stopped truck at 60 MPH in Utah last week, the driver has told police. The driver luckily escaped with only a broken foot, though the car suffered extensive damage.
Uber crash reportedly caused by software that ignored objects in road
Uber has reportedly discovered that the fatal crash involving one of its prototype self-driving cars was probably caused by software faultily set up to ignore objects in the road, sources told The Information. The autonomous programming detects items around the vehicle and operators fine-tune its sensitivity to make sure it only reacts to true threats (solid objects instead of bags, for example). Unfortunately, the car's software was supposedly set too far in the other direction, and didn't stop in time to avoid hitting bicyclist Elaine Herzberg.
Tesla insists Model X driver was at fault in fatal crash
When Tesla revealed that Autopilot was engaged during the fatal Model X crash in Mountain View, it only said that the vehicle's "logs show[ed] that no action was taken" even though the driver had time to react. Now, the automaker has issued another statement much stronger than that, saying that the only way the accident could have happened was if the driver (identified as Apple engineer Walter Huang) wasn't paying attention.
Federal investigators 'unhappy' Tesla revealed crash details
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is "unhappy" that Tesla released information about the fiery March 23rd crash that killed a driver. In a blog post last Friday, Elon Musk said that the Autopilot was active when the Model struck a highway barrier and caught fire. He also noted that according to vehicle data, driver Wei Huang didn't have his hands on the steering wheel for six seconds prior to the crash into a disabled safety barrier.
Uber reportedly reduced the number of sensors on its autonomous cars
Uber is facing some intense scrutiny after one of its self-driving cars struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona ten days ago. The company (along with it's partner, NVIDIA) has stopped testing its autonomous vehicle in cities across the US, and the Arizona governor suspended the tests specifically in that state. According to a report by Reuters, Uber allegedly scaled back on the number of safety sensors used to detect objects in the road, resulting in a blind zone on the Volvo SUV model involved in the accident.
NVIDIA reportedly suspends its self-driving tests on public roads
NVIDIA will suspend all of its public road self-driving tests following Uber's fatal accident, a company spokesperson has told Recode. The company supplies chips for Uber's self-driving vehicles and it says that it needs to find out more about last week's crash. "The accident was tragic," a spokesperson said in a statement. "It's a reminder of how difficult [self-driving car] technology is and that it needs to be approached with extreme caution and the best safety technologies."
