The first pedestrian killed by an autonomous car
In Tempe, Arizona, an Uber test vehicle struck and killed Elaine Herzberg as she crossed the road outside a crossing.
Why it matters
The first death involving an autonomous system moved the industry from promises to safety procedures.
The system detected an obstacle six seconds before impact but could not classify it as a pedestrian and changed its assumption several times. Emergency braking was disabled to avoid harsh stops and relied on a human supervisor, who was looking at a phone. The NTSB named not only the operator's behaviour but Uber's inadequate safety culture as causes. The company ended the programme in 2020.