Lots of Errors in this Era

A pedestrian was killed by a self-driving Uber car in Arizona last year. The accident prompted a 20-month investigation by the NTSB and re-kindled the debate over self-driving cars.

The main point of the report released by the National Transportation Safety Board was that Uber's technology was not able to detect "jaywalkers" and can only detect people crossing the street when they are in crosswalks. A spokesperson for Uber has reported technology improvements now allows for cars to detect pedestrians and bicycle riders who do not follow the rules of the road.

Anyone who has driven a car just once knows there are drivers, bike riders, and pedestrians who do not follow the rules of the road. How does a company that wants to introduce self-driving cars not account for that before the first models are rolled out? There are always people in a rush. People who are late for work. People who are tired and want to get home. Everyone, myself included, has had a situation where they roll through a stop sign, speed to get where they need to be, pass cars legally or illegally because of some type of emergency and they need get there.

It's not right but people do it. You get out of Driver's Ed armed with the rules of the road and think you are ready to take on the Urban Jungle, then you encounter your first rotary, roundabout, or traffic circle and watch all the law and order fly out the window because someone forgot to tell you they are more important and don't need to follow the rules.

Now let's get to the "User Error" part of the story. Where was the car's driver/passenger in all this? According to a story in AZCentral, she was watching a video on her phone; Not paying attention to the road. Why should she? The car was driving.

Is there some type of human override in a self-driving car? Is there a way for a person in the car to apply a brake or steer if there is a situation the car cannot anticipate? Again, how does the manufacturer not allow for these scenarios when designing or building the car? Was there a horn that could have been sounded? Did the passenger look up from time to time to check out her surroundings?

Driving for me is fun. Sometimes I am the passenger and that allows me to do things that would take my eyes and mind off of the road but if I am the only one in the vehicle, I am paying attention to my surroundings. I don't see the fun or need for self-driving cars, personally. Tragedies like the one that occurred in Arizona are precisely why. There are too many unknown factors when being out on the road that can arise when you are getting from point A to point B. If we are going to continue with technology and "Progress" entering our lives and making things easier and convenient for us, there needs to be an allowance for the unknown. We can all start by looking up from our technology from time to time and check out what or who is around us. There's a big world out there with a lot of people trying to live their lives.