Women walking bicycle becomes the first autonomous vehicle pedestrian fatality

A self-driving Uber in Tempe, Arizona has struck and killed a 49-year-old pedestrian who was walking her bicycle across the street. It’s believed to be the first pedestrian fatality from a collision with an autonomous vehicle as first reported by CNN.

A police statement said that an operator was behind the SUV’s wheel when the collision took place. “The vehicle involved is one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles,” the Tempe police said. “It was in autonomous mode at the time of the collision, with a vehicle operator behind the wheel.”

Uber has been doing tests of its self-driving vehicles with the safety of vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians a major concern. The pedestrians death will make many wonder if the technology’s designers are adequately taking into consideration the safety of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

Regulators will also have further questions following the death. Companies have been testing autonomous vehicles with drivers at the wheel with plans to begin testing fully autonomous vehicles in the near future. Arizona allows autonomous vehicles without a driver at the wheel to operate making it a popular spot for companies to test their vehicles and technology.

Uber was one such company and has been conducting autonomous vehicle tests in Tempe, Pittsburgh, San Fransisco and Toronto. All test operations have been suspended following the fatality.

Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened. https://t.co/cwTCVJjEuz

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) March 19, 2018

“Some incredibly sad news out of Arizona. We’re thinking of the victim’s family as we work with local law enforcement to understand what happened,” Tweeted Uber Ceo Dara Khosrowshahi on Monday.

The fatal collision took place at 10 pm MST on Sunday.