Uber Puts Self-Driving Cars To Suspension After Test Accident In Arizona

Uber Technologies Inc. has decided to put its self-driving cars experiment to a suspension on Friday following the involvement of its autonomous vehicle in a collision with a human-driven car in Tempe Arizona. The test accident was the latest misfortune for the firm that has been plagued with multiple crises.

A picture of the testing accident circulated on Twitter showing that one of Uber's self-driving cars landed on its side after it collided with another two vehicles driven by humans, with its headlights blasted while the car behind the autonomous vehicle severely dented. But the local police in Arizona told the media that the Uber vehicle was not the culprit behind the incident.

Arizona authorities claimed that the self-driving car from Uber was in autonomous mode and two safety drivers were designated up front at the time of the accident. Luckily, the incident that resulted in the suspension of its own program caused no injuries among the involved parties.

With yet another test accident involving the already crises-reeled Uber, the transportation network firm has decided to put a period on its self-driving cars program in Arizona as well in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company's spokesperson confirmed that firm will conduct an investigation on what happened saying "We are continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no backseat passengers in the vehicle."

The first self-driving cars experiment commenced in late February with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey being its inaugural rider. Before this latest suspension, the firm was involved in an incident in San Francisco, California when it defied regulators by refusing to seize testing permits for the same program.

This latest self-driving cars test accident in Arizona that involved Uber may not save the firm from embarrassment but other scandals hounding the firm could hurt the company at a worse time. The company has been thrown with sexual harassment allegations and a lawsuit from Waymo, which accused Uber and Otto of conspiring to steal trade secrets.