The self-driving Uber SUV that struck pedestrian Elaine Herzberg on March 18, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. The self-driving Uber SUV that struck pedestrian Elaine Herzberg on March 18, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. The self-driving Uber SUV involved in a fatal crash that killed a Tempe, Ariz., woman last year did not recognize her as a jaywalking pedestrian and its braking system was not designed to avoid an imminent collision, according to a federal report released this week. The conclusions by the National Transportation Safety Board were published ahead of a Nov. 19 meeting in Washington, D.C., called to discuss the cause of the crash and safety recommendations. The self-driving vehicle struck and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg on March 18, 2018, as she was walking across the street with her bicycle outside of a crosswalk.

An autonomous Uber car spotted a pedestrian about six seconds before fatally hitting her but did not stop because the system used to automatically apply brakes in potentially dangerous situations had been disabled, US federal investigators said. In a preliminary report on the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said emergency braking maneuvers are not enabled while Uber's cars are under computer control'to reduce the potential for erratic vehicle behavior'. Instead, Uber relies on a human backup driver to intervene but the system is not designed to alert the driver. Investigators examine a driverless Uber SUV that fatally struck a woman in Arizona. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said emergency braking maneuvers are not enabled while Uber's cars are under computer control In the crash in March, the driver Rafaela Vasquez began steering less than a second before impact but did not brake until less than a second after impact, according to the preliminary report, which does not determine fault.

The autonomous Uber SUV that struck and killed an Arizona pedestrian in March spotted the woman about six seconds before hitting her, but did not stop because the system used to automatically apply brakes in potentially dangerous situations had been disabled, according to federal investigators. In a preliminary report on the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that emergency braking is not enabled while Uber's cars are under computer control, "to reduce the potential for erratic vehicle behavior." Instead, Uber relies on a human backup driver to intervene. The system, however, is not designed to alert the driver. In the crash, the driver began steering less than a second before impact but didn't brake until less than a second after impact, according to the preliminary report, which does not determine fault.