2 months ago, a self-driving Uber SUV hit and killed a woman who was crossing the streets in Tempe, Arizona. The company has now decided to pull the plug on all testing of autonomous vehicles in the state of Arizona, resulting in the firing of 200 employees.
While Uber still believes that self driving cars are the future (and even flying cars, at some point), most citizens are becoming wary of the systems. AAA has conducted a study that shows that citizens are more concerned about self-driving cars than they were at the end of 2017. Out of all the individuals interviewed, 73% stated they would be “too afraid” to ride in a self-driving car anytime in the foreseeable future.
Uber is not the only company having issues perfecting the self-driving car method. Tesla had a semi-autoonomous Model X hit a concrete divider during testing, causing the public to ask if they really would trust a car to safely drive itself on the roadways.
Despite the negative outlook, Uber has reassured the public that limited testing would resume in both Pennsylvania and California this summer. While the company’s goal may be to push out their autonomous cars, individuals may be asking themselves if this is the future they really want.
