What We’re Reading
Backup driver of an autonomous Uber pleads guilty to endangerment in pedestrian death (NPR, July 28, 2023)
In March 2018, Rafaela Vasquez tragically made the news as the backup driver in the first fatal collision involving an autonomous vehicle. The collision happened when the self-driving Uber (a Volvo SUV) in which Vasquez was riding as the backup driver collided with a pedestrian in a cross walk in Phoenix. Reports from the scene were that Vasquez was watching an episode of “The Voice” on her phone rather than watching the road; Vasquez claimed she didn’t see the pedestrian in the dark. Through her attorneys, she also clarified that she was looking at an Uber messaging program on her work phone, while the show was streaming on her personal phone on the passenger seat.
Vasquez was charged with negligent homicide, but pleaded guilty to “an undesignated felony, meaning it could be reclassified as a misdemeanor if she completes probation.” In presenting the plea, her attorneys argued that she should be sentenced to six months of probation, arguing that Uber shares the blame. The Court ultimately sentenced her to three years of supervised probation.
“Prosecutors previously declined to file criminal charges against Uber, as a corporation. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded Vasquez's failure to monitor the road was the main cause of the crash.” However, the NTSB also cited Uber’s “inadequate safety procedures” and its deactivation of the vehicle’s AEB system as contributing factors in the collision. “[T]he Uber system detected [the pedestrian] 5.6 seconds before the crash. But it failed to determine whether she was a bicyclist, pedestrian or unknown object, or that she was headed into the vehicle's path, the board said.”
California privacy regulator’s first case: Probing internet-connected cars (The Washington Post, August 1, 2023)
A newly-formed California state agency charged with monitoring compliance with the state’s consumer data privacy laws is launching its first probe—and it is targeted at the data collection practices of connected vehicles.
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is authorized to conduct such investigations to enforce state residents’ rights to know if and how their data is being collected and used. According to the CPPA’s executive director, Ashkan Soltani, “[m]odern vehicles are effectively connected computers on wheels. They’re able to collect a wealth of information via built-in apps, sensors, and cameras, which can monitor people both inside and near the vehicle. ... Our Enforcement Division is making inquiries into the connected vehicle space to understand how these companies are complying with California law when they collect and use consumers’ data.”
As noted in this article, similar investigations in Europe already have forced vehicle manufacturers to limit data collection and/or make additional disclosures at the point of collection.
Waymo Ditches Autonomous Trucking to Focus on Ride-Hailing (Ford Authority, July 28, 2023)
Waymo, a pioneer in the autonomous driving technology space, announced plans last week to move away from autonomous truck development to focus more prominently on its autonomous ride-hailing business.
“Given the tremendous momentum and substantial commercial opportunity we’re seeing on the ride-hailing front, we’ve made the decision to focus our efforts and investment on ride-hailing,” the company said in a statement. “We’re iterating more quickly than ever on our technology by pushing forward state of the art AI/ML, and seeing significant business growth and rider demand in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.”
Like Ford and others, Waymo appears to believe that robotaxis are a more commercially viable product, given the strict regulatory hurdles autonomous trucks must overcome, as well as the lack of optimal technology currently needed to safely and profitably deploy autonomous trucks on a widescale basis.