News: Three Days After Major Crash, Uber's Self-Driving Cars Are Back on the Streets

Three Days After Major Crash, Uber's Self-Driving Cars Are Back on the Streets

Uber resumed its pilot program for driverless cars after one of its autonomous vehicles crashed in Tempe, Arizona last weekend.

The program was grounded in Arizona, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco after the incident on Friday, when a Volvo self-driving SUV collided with another car at around 6:30 p.m. local time.

However, testing quickly resumed. Uber told Engadget that it was "resuming our development operations" in San Francisco this morning. The site reports that Uber fleets in Arizona and Pittsburgh are still grounded.

The news comes after the crash on Friday, in which a car failed to yield to Uber's driverless SUV and struck it, causing the Uber car to roll over on its side, according to ABC 15 Arizona.

Fresco News hit the scene and posted some images to Twitter, in which the car can be seen on its side with smashed windows and severe damage due to the force of the crash.

The Uber driverless car crash. Images by Mark Beach/Fresco News Twitter

Although there were no backseat passengers riding in the vehicle at the time of the crash, there were two "safety" drivers present, who seem to have escaped uninjured.

A company spokesperson told The Verge that the vehicle in question was in driverless mode at the time of the incident. According to Tempe police information officer Josie Montenegro, local authorities determined the Uber vehicle was not at fault in the accident.

The news comes after Uber had quite a year in terms of scandals which rocked the company's foundation this year.

They are facing a lawsuit for allegedly stealing trade secrets from Waymo, Google's autonomous car business. Its driverless cars have also run red lights on several occasions, not to mention the sexual harassment allegations posted online by one former female employee.

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Cover image via Mark Beach/Fresco News

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