Safety Culture in the News

Safety Culture in the News

Why Would Uber Sell Its Autonomous Driving Group?

Why Would Uber Sell Its Autonomous Driving Group?

In November 2019, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a report on a March 2018 incident in which an Uber autonomous vehicle in Phoenix killed a pedestrian. Among the NTSB’s findings was this one: “The NTSB concludes that the Uber ATG did not adequately manage the anticipated safety risk of its automated driving system’s functional limitations, including the system’s inability in this crash to correctly classify and predict the path of the pedestrian crossing the road midblock.”

Further, according to the NTSB, “The Uber ATG’s inadequate safety culture created conditions—including inadequate oversight of vehicle operators—that contributed to the circumstances of the crash and specifically to the vehicle operator’s extended distraction during the crash trip.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed Uber’s traditional ride-sharing business into the background and, had it not been for the company’s Uber Eats delivery service, the company’s results would have been much worse. Uber’s $2.65 billion acquisition of delivery service Postmates is expected to close this quarter.