Japanese
automaker Toyota said Thursday it was suspending tests of its self-driving cars
so staff could “emotionally process” after an autonomous Uber car killed a
pedestrian in an accident.
Ride-sharing
giant Uber has already suspended use of self-driving cars after one of its
vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian Sunday in the US state of Arizona.
“We
cannot speculate on the cause of the incident or what it may mean to the
automated driving industry going forward,” Toyota said in a statement issued
via the US company that conducts its autonomous vehicle research TRI.
“TRI
is pausing Chauffeur mode testing to let its drivers emotionally process this
tragedy. We’re monitoring the situation and plan to resume testing at an
appropriate time,” the statement said.
“This
pause is meant to give them time to settle their feelings and come to a sense
of balance.”
Toyota
said it would continue its tests of semi-autonomous cars on closed circuits.
But
all testing of autonomous cars on public roads, which was previously being
conducted in Japan and the US states of California and Michigan, is on hold.
Toyota,
like Uber, has safety drivers behind the wheel of its autonomous cars during
testing, though the drivers are not typically expected to operate the vehicles.
The
Uber accident was the first fatal self-driving car crash involving a pedestrian
and has raised fresh concern about the safety of autonomous vehicles.
German
automaker BMW said Wednesday expressed sympathies over the incident but said it
would not affect its self-driving car project, while Nissan has made no
comment.
- AFP
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