Accident: Overstarts tests with autonomous cars

After an accident, the service agent took over his self-propelled cars first from the streets - the vehicle was not at all responsible.

On top of this, the tests with their self-propelled cars stopped with caution after one of the vehicles had been involved in an accident. According to the police in Tempe in the state of Arizona, however, the car was not the fault of the collision, but the driver of the other car who had taken the road ahead of the car. There were no serious injuries.

Apparently, it was a quite powerful clash: Even pictures, which circulate in the Internet, can be seen that the Uber-Volvo, after all, a not very small SUV, is on the side. According to the company, no passenger was on board. According to his own data, Uber has about a dozen self-propelled cars at the test site in Pittsburgh and Arizona.

Autonomous over-car. (Photo: Volvo)

Driving without license

Over the past few months Uber has had problems with his self-propelled cars. In California Uber drove from December without permission. After the authorities forbade this, the company left for Arizona, but has now also obtained a license for California.

In test drives in San Francisco, a red car had ignored a red light. Talked about human error. However, the "New York Times" later reported that the car had been autonomous, and that the driver's mistake was not to have intervened in time. Accidents with self-propelled cars have already existed several times, but in most cases other drivers were the cause. In one case, however, a Google car hit a bus at low speed and caused a sheet metal damage. The most serious accident occurred with a Tesla, who had overlooked a truck under "Autopilot", and the driver was killed.

Theft of business secrets?

In addition, Uber still has several other problems: The Google subsidiary Waymo has sued the company because Anthony Levandowski, today's chief developer of Uber's self-propelled cars, previously worked for Waymo and took his business secrets with his competition, among other things The technology of the laser radars with which the cars recognize their surroundings. Refute the accusations. Added to this are criticisms of the company culture as well as the leadership style of Uber boss Travis Kalanick.