Uber gives up testing of self-driving cars in California in wake of fatal Arizona crash
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Uber will not renew its permit to test self-driving cars in California when it expires this Saturday in the wake of the fatal pedestrian crash in Arizona, according to a letter sent to the company from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.
The DMV's letter refers to the department's conversations with Uber following the pedestrian fatality involving an Uber autonomous vehicle in a Phoenix suburb last week.
MORE: Video shows self-driving Uber car's fatal collision with pedestrian in Arizona
The letter reads in part:
"Uber has indicated that it will not renew its current permit to test autonomous vehicles in California. By the terms of its current permit, Uber's authority to test autonomous vehicles in California public roads will end on March 31, 2018. Prior to resuming autonomous vehicle testing operations in California, Uber must apply for a new autonomous vehicle testing permit."
On March 21, police in Tempe released a 22-second video showing a woman walking from a darkened area onto a street just before an Uber SUV strikes her. The Volvo was in self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, police said.
The human backup driver appears to be looking down until just before the time of the impact.
The fatal crash in Tempe was the first fatality involving a self-driving vehicle in the United States.
Uber immediately suspended its self-driving vehicle testing in Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
