The autonomous car industry has a perception problem -- and now a group of related companies has banded together to try to solve it.
Uber's fatal crash last month was the first self-driving car accident to kill a pedestrian. Then a Tesla Model X in autopilot mode left the driver dead after a fiery crash into a California highway barrier. Following its deadly accident in Tempe, Arizona, Uber halted all its self-driving testing, as did companies such as Nvidia and Toyota.
SEE ALSO:Here's the math that Intel claims proves self-driving cars are safeA group of tech and transportation companies involved in building and testing self-driving vehicles announced the Autonomous Vehicle Coalition on Tuesday. The group aims to tout the enhanced safety of computer-run vehicles, along with economic and job opportunities and overall quality of life for people to get around.
Without human drivers, the group believes, traffic accidents and deaths will decrease and our roads will be safer.
So far, members of the coalition are tangentially related to the self-driving car makers. Mapping company Esri joined the coalition along with Cisco, Econolite, Kuharchik Construction, Gannett Fleming, Phoenix Contact, and Royal Truck and Equipment.
We've reached out to Waymo, Tesla and Uber to find out if they plan to join; the coalition says its goal is to "grow membership to a sustainable level."
SEE ALSO:Get out of the driver's seat, humanData cited by the Institute of Transportation Engineers shows 33,000 people are killed annually in about 5.7 million highway traffic accidents in the U.S.
When you consider the number of miles autonomous vehicles have driven (Uber was at 3 million miles before stopping its testing last month, while Waymo is at 5 million and counting), it's clear that the crash rate is much lower than in human-powered vehicles.
Waymo's CEO John Krafcik told Bloombergthat the Uber crash led to him redoubling his efforts to bring self-driving cars to the masses. It didn't discourage him, but instead served as a rallying call for the industry to step up and bring in the potentially life-saving technology.
The coalition has a similar outlook -- the death of Elaine Herzberg, 49, in Tempe, Arizona should encourage improvement and testing of autonomous vehicles.
After Tesla revealed that its semi-autonomous driving feature, Autopilot, was engaged during the recent fatal crash on Highway 101 in the Bay Area, this video circulated online -- showing the self-driving feature making a potentially catastrophic lane choice mistake.
Tesla says its Autopilot feature is not intended to take over driving altogether, and drivers are reminded to stay alert and ready to take over control. Audio and visual cues continuously pop up. Drivers are required to have hands on the wheel -- and if the system detects a hands-off driver, eventually Autopilot will turn off and lock out.
When used correctly, according to a U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report [PDF], Autopilot was found to reduce crash rates by 40 percent.
That report was in response to a different fatal Tesla crash in Florida in 2016, clearing the Autopilot feature of any fault. Tesla pointed to an "over-reliance" on the automated feature as a major factor.
Still, no matter how the tech is intended to be used, fear of how it can go wrong is front and center. The autonomous car industry will need to deal with these fears for some time to come.
CORRECTION: April 4, 2018, 10:18 a.m. PDT A quote about autonomous vehicle testing was misattributed to Esri and has been removed.
TopicsSelf-Driving CarsTeslaUber
(责任编辑：綜合)
Uber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enoughThe 'When We Were Young' emo music festival lineup will make you feel oldSamsung has announced the Odyssey Ark, a curved monitor that can be turned on its side
The best onWe asked linguists if Donald Trump speaks like that on purposeHere's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Warning: Contains some mild Season 6 spoilers right at the end (the video is spoiler-free). 。LONDON -
...[详细]'Pam and Tommy' dumpster dives and strikes gold: Review
Pam and Tommy looks trashy at first.Sure, the true-to-life miniseries aims to earnestly entice audie
...[详细]BBC presenter Andrew Marr signs off final broadcast with an 'Anchorman' quote
How do you go about ending a show that you've been on for over 15 years? What final words do you cho
...[详细]BBC presenter Andrew Marr signs off final broadcast with an 'Anchorman' quote
How do you go about ending a show that you've been on for over 15 years? What final words do you cho
...[详细]More than half of women in advertising have faced sexual harassment, report says
If you are a woman in advertising, chances are you've faced workplace sexual harassment at one point
...[详细]Fake 'CryptoPunk' hexagonal Twitter profile picture shows fatal flaw in its NFT plans
Twitter's new hexagonal NFT profile pics were supposed to put right-click savers in their place. The
...[详细]Get the benefits of a personal trainer at
You: I always get the most out of my workouts and feel the best about my health when I work out with
...[详细]Facebook records loss in daily users for first time
After yearsof scandals, congressional hearings, and generally bad vibes, it seems like people are fi
...[详细]Uber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enough
UPDATE: Sept. 7, 2016, 4:41 p.m. EDT 。 A ruling in a different case on Wednesday, Sept. 7 may have ch
...[详细]The 'When We Were Young' emo music festival lineup will make you feel old
Concert promoter Live Nation decided to cyberbully millennials on Tuesday, Jan. 18, when it announce
...[详细]Mom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamed
You can now play 'Wordle' on a Game Boy