Survey finds public trust in self-driving cars declined after fatal crashes
Uber informed nearly 100 autonomous vehicle operators in Pittsburgh on Wednesday that their jobs will be terminated as the company moves to rethink its self-driving strategy in the wake of the fatal Tempe, Arizona, crash earlier this year that killed a pedestrian.
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According to a report by Quartz, Uber confirmed that the jobs in Pittsburgh will be replaced by about 55 so-called “mission specialists” with more advanced autonomous testing skills and the ability to provide more technical insight.
The move comes after Uber suspended self-driving testing at all four sites it operated after a test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian crossing the street in Tempe on March 18. Tempe police said that the operator at the time was watching a video on her phone and failed to see victim Elaine Herzberg walking her bike across the street at night while the vehicle was using Uber's autonomous test mode. Uber said that its system was not designed to brake the vehicle automatically during autonomous testing.
As manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz announce their move into the crowded self-driving taxi market and companies such as Google’s Waymo continue to push forward ahead of the pack, this announcement signifies a setback for Uber, who were previously one of the first movers in the field.
Consumer confidence in self-driving cars is on the decline, according to a new survey. Nearly three-quarters of 1,014 Americans polled by AAA last month said that they’re afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle.
Willingness to ride in a self-driving car dropped from 64 percent late last year to just 49 percent of millennials—those aged 20 to 37—surveyed. Millennials have been the most eager to try out new technologies in previous surveys. Nearly 80 percent of baby boomers indicated that they are afraid of riding in a self-driving vehicle.
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About two thirds of the survey's respondents regardless of age said that they don’t even want to share the road with autonomous vehicles because they would feel unsafe doing so.
Two separate fatal crashes in March involving a self-driving Uber test vehicle that struck a pedestrian in Arizona and a Tesla Model X operating in semi-autonomous Autopilot mode that crashed and trapped its driver inside in California appear to have dampened enthusiasm for self-driving cars.
Even with the negative survey results, consumers seem to understand the promise of autonomous vehicles, as 55 percent said that they would want their next vehicle to have semi-autonomous technology that could prevent their vehicle from colliding with another.
