Uber has pulled all of its self-driving cars from the roads after one of its vehicles was involved in a serious crash.
The incident, which happened in Arizona, saw the futuristic car collide with another vehicle, leaving the driverless car on its side in the middle of the road.
Despite the crash having been the fault of the other vehicle, Uber has confirmed it is taking no chances and has retired all of its self-driving test cars to the garage.
Having originally benched its test vehicles in Arizona, the company later decided to remove its Pennsylvania and California pool of cars from the roads too.
Although the firm has said it is “continuing to look into this incident,” Uber has confirmed that the car involved, a heavily modified Volvo SUV, was in self-driving mode at the time of the crash.
Related: Would you ride in a driverless Uber?
As required by law, despite being in self-driving mode the car had a person behind the wheel, with another engineer sat in the front passenger seat.
According to local police, the crash occurred when the standard road car “failed to yield” to the driverless Uber at a left turn.
Now, Uber is looking at whether the passenger could have reacted sooner to the incident, or if updates to the vehicle’s software could have helped the car itself react sooner to the situation.
Discussing what’s currently known about the crash, company spokeswoman Josie Montenegro, stated: “There was a person behind the wheel.”
She added: “It is uncertain at this time if they were controlling the vehicle at the time of the collision.”
Uber has yet to confirm when its driverless cars will return to the roads.
WATCH: Games of the Year
Would you ride in a driverless car yet? Let us know in the comments below.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
