The death of Elaine Herzberg, hit by a driverless Uber research vehicle in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday, was a terrible accident. But before entertaining any knee-jerk reactions to ban or restrict driverless cars, it’s important to recognize, as Tempe police chief Sylvia Moir says, that early indications suggest neither Uber nor the supervising driver in its vehicle were to blame.
It would be easy to blame Uber for the accident, and that’s what the Amalgamated Transit Union wants to do. In the wake of the accident, it released a statement calling for Congress to pass more regulation on autonomous cars and trucks. “We are helpless bystanders caught in a corporate gold rush while these profiteers rush these self-driving multi-ton missiles onto our streets and highways long before they are ready,” ATU International President Lawrence Hanley said. “It’s time to put the brakes on autonomous vehicles.”
