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Source: 30dB.com – Autonomous%20Vehicles
But after one of Uber’s self-driving cars killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday, sentiments have done a complete U-turn. Now 77 percent of social media conversations around self-driving cars are negative, with sentiments suggesting that the potential for fatalities is too great and the technology has major flaws. Self-driving startups across the country halted their own tests while Uber launched an investigation. But despite increased skepticism from Social, the Uber vehicle may not have been be at fault. The car was equipped with video cameras, and according to Tempe police, footage suggests that the woman who was killed moved into oncoming traffic from a darkened center median. According to Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir, the vehicle was carrying a backup driver who couldn’t see the pedestrian. “It’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode,” Moir told The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday. –Hugo Guzman
Republished from 30dB