In August, California regulators voted to allow self-driving car companies like Cruise and Waymo to expand their operations and start offering robotaxi services. After a litany of questionable behaviors ranging from the annoying to terrifying, the California DMV has suspended Cruise's permits, effective immediately. Is this just a temporary setback, or is the driverless future further off than it looked just a few months ago? If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence--and you'll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD.

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a report documenting crashes involving cars with automated driving components. The report looked at data on Automated Driving Systems (commonly referred to as "self-driving cars") and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (cars equipped with lane-keeping technology and adaptive cruise control, such as Tesla's Autopilot). The New York Times covered the report's release. A quick scroll through Twitter showed that the public divided: Is this technology something to praise, or something to fear? Ultimately, the NHTSA report, while an essential first step, doesn't leave a clear picture whether self-driving cars will prevent crashes when they arrive in the future.

Uber is heading to Dallas, Texas to test its self-driving cars - but the vehicles will only travel in manual mode. This is the first testing series since the ride-sharing giant's operation was suspended last year a woman was killed by one of its vehicles in Tempe, Arizona. Uber hopes to develop high-definition maps, capture scenarios to create simulations on a test track and refine its expansion methodology during this new phase of testing. Uber is heading to Dallas, Texas to test its self-driving cars –but will be operated manually. 'The City of Dallas has been an exceptional partner to Uber as we continue to expand mobility options for our riders and economic opportunities for restaurants,' Austin Geidt, Head of Uber ATG Strategy, shared in the press release announcing the new development.

Uber's dreams of a fleet of self-driving taxis may be on the rocks, if the firm's latest move is anything to go by. The ride-hailing company laid off 100 safety drivers after autonomous vehicle tests were suspended in the US, following a high profile crash in Arizona. Uber initially said it was not shuttering its entire autonomous vehicle program in the aftermath of the incident, in which 49 year old Elaine Herzberg died. Instead, it announced it was focusing on more limited testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and California, aiming to resume self-driving this summer. That decision may have been revised, if the latest news is anything to go by, with all 100 redundancies at its Pittsburgh base of operations.

Police in Tempe, Arizona said evidence showed the "safety" driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber was distracted and streaming a television show on her phone right up until about the time of a fatal accident in March, deeming the crash that rocked the nascent industry "entirely avoidable." A 318-page report from the Tempe Police Department, released late Thursday in response to a public records request, said the driver, Rafaela Vasquez, repeatedly looked down and not at the road, glancing up just a half second before the car hit 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing the street at night. According to the report, Vasquez could face charges of vehicle manslaughter. Police said that, based on testing, the crash was "deemed entirely avoidable" if Vasquez had been paying attention. Police obtained records from Hulu, an online service for streaming television shows and movies, which showed Vasquez's account was playing the television talent show "The Voice" the night of the crash for about 42 minutes, ending at 9:59 p.m., which "coincides with the approximate time of the collision," the report says.

Google's Waymo shows off their self-driving car technology in an advertisement. A Chrysler Pacifica hybrid outfitted with Waymo's suite of sensors and radar is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2017. PHOENIX -- A self-driving vehicle operated by Waymo was involved in a crash Saturday night in Mesa, Arizona, officials said. The five-car collision happened about 10 p.m. Saturday. The self-driving van was not in autonomous mode at the time of the crash, said a spokesperson for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department.

Roundup This week's AI roundup includes an alarming report from California's Department of Motor Vehicles about how shoddy autonomous cars still are, a Waymo self-driving car crash, and some news from Facebook's F8 conference and its new job posting. Uh oh, not another self-driving car crash It's Waymo's turn to be involved in a car crash. Reports from local news in Arizona showed a beat up Waymo van and a trashed Honda Sedan lying around piles of debris on a road in Chandler on Friday. Check out the impact from a TV report from ABC 15. The white Waymo van was in autonomous mode when the crash happened.

Uber has reached a settlement with the family of the woman killed by a self-driving Uber car in Arizona. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Uber has reached a settlement with the family of the woman killed by a self-driving Uber car in Arizona.

Tempe police have released two angles of a fatal crash involving a self-driving Uber SUV and a pedestrian on Sunday, March 18. PHOENIX -- The Tempe Police Department on Wednesday released a video that shows the moments before a self-driving Uber vehicle fatally hit a 49-year-old woman. The crash, which occurred about 10 p.m. Sunday on a street in Tempe, is believed to be the nation's first pedestrian death involving an autonomous vehicle. Police said the Uber vehicle was in autonomous mode when the crash happened. The vehicle had a backup operator behind the wheel, which is common in case the vehicle has to be taken out of self-driving mode. Officials identified the operator as 44-year-old Rafaela Vasquez.

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, photo, a group of self-driving Uber vehicles position themselves to take journalists on rides during a media preview at Uber's Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh. On Monday, March 27, 2017, Uber said it is resuming its self-driving car program in Arizona and Pittsburgh after it was suspended following a crash over the weekend. The company had also grounded self-driving cars in San Francisco over the weekend but they resumed operating earlier on Monday. The company said that it paused the operations over the weekend to better understand what happened in Arizona, but feels confident in returning the cars to the road.