?We cannot afford for companies? race-to-market to become a race-to-the-bottom for safety.?  Uber has suspended all autonomous testing after its self-driving vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona late Sunday night. The death raises new questions about who is liable for an autonomous crash?especially in this case, when a human ?safety driver? was behind the wheel.
Although there has been at least one death attributed to Tesla?s autopilot feature, the tragic death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg is considered to be the first time an autonomous vehicle has killed a person who was not a passenger in that vehicle.
The crash highlights potentially large gaps that still exist in federal AV policy and technological challenges like communication between vehicles and other users of the street. According to a press conference held by Tempe police earlier this afternoon, a self-driving 2017 Volvo XC-90 SUV was traveling at 40 miles per hour in autonomous mode and showed no signs of slowing down when it hit Herzberg, who was pushing a bicycle across an eight-lane street near the intersection of Mill Avenue and Curry Road.
The safety driver, identified as Rafael Vasquez, was meant to take control of the vehicle in the event of an emergency. According to Sgt. Ronald Elcock of Tempe?s police department, he was not impaired, and the county attorney will determine whether to bring charges against Uber, the driver, or both.

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