NTSB via Reuters
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday ordered Uber Technologies Inc. to suspend testing autonomous vehicles on public roadways in the state, a blow to the company’s development efforts after one of its self-driving cars stuck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe.
Ducey, a Republican who welcomed Uber’s self-driving technology with open arms to Arizona in 2016, said in a letter to Uber’s chief executive that he had directed the state’s department of transportation to suspend the company’s ability to test the cars.
“Improving public safety has always been the emphasis of Arizona’s approach to autonomous vehicle testing, and my expectation is that public safety is also the top priority for all who operate this technology in the state of Arizona,” Ducey said in his letter. “The incident that took place on March 18 is an unquestionable failure to comply with this expectation.”
Uber last week said it pulled the vehicles from public roads in Tempe, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Toronto while the investigation of the deadly crash continues. Uber representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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