Uber Admits To Self-driving Car 'Problem' in Bike Lanes As Safety Concerns Mount (theguardian.com)

Uber has admitted that there is a "problem" with the way autonomous vehicles cross bike lanes, raising serious questions about the safety of cyclists days after the company announced it would openly defy California regulators over self-driving vehicles. From a report on The Guardian: An Uber spokeswoman said on Monday that engineers were working to fix a flaw in the programming that advocates feared could have deadly consequences for cyclists. Uber began piloting its self-driving vehicles in its home town of San Francisco last week, despite state officials' declaration that the ride-share company needed special permits to test its technology. On day one, numerous autonomous vehicles -- which have a driver in the front seat who can take control -- were caught running red lights and committing a range of traffic violations. Despite threats of legal action from the department of motor vehicles (DMV) and California's attorney general, Kamala Harris, Uber refused to back down on Friday, claiming its rejection of government authority was "an important issue of principle."

Comments

Re:Depends how you look at it

[Anonymous Coward]

Make useful bike infrastructure and I'd gladly get out of the way of all the idiot cagers. But until we have that I can't

And no, sidewalks don't count, they're often illegal to ride on and no where near as ubiquitous as roads. Less than half my commute is covered by them

Hit & Run

[kimvette]

An interesting legal issue; what will happen when (not if) one of their vehicles is involved in a hit & run collision, and for the traffic violations? If the decision makers at Uber are willing to take on the felony charges and traffic violations and do time or pay the fines out of their own personal pockets when this happens then we should be all for them testing without the proper permits and no drivers in the vehicles.

Re:Hit & Run

[HatofPig]

If the passenger who hired the car was liable for accidents then Uber would be stopped dead in its tracks. After all, Uber just made the gun; it's the passenger who pulls the trigger by putting it on the road. Make it so passengers need auto-insurance to hire one.

What the actual fuck?

[wwalker]

> claiming its rejection of government authority was "an important issue of principle."

Which means next time you see a self-driving Uber, feel free to scratch the fuck out of it any way you see fit, break the headlights, or even steal it if you like. Since Uber doesn't recognize the government authority on principal, they must have given up police protection as well.

CA Bike Lane Laws conflict with MI

[userw014]

The California law REQUIRES the automobile to USE the bike lane to make the right hand turn.

Michigan law FORBIDS the automobile from using the bike lane (except to cross it.)

I can believe other states are even more complicated..

Autonomous Cars are Fine

[wisnoskij]

As long as the Owner/CEO gets treated as the driver in all cases. If an auto Uber car runs over a person, throw Kalanick in jail for a few years, and revoke the company's license to operate autonomous vehicles for a few decades.

Bike lock, meet window

[Macdude]

As a cyclist if a self-driving car cuts me off in a bike lane or otherwise tries to kill me I'll put my bike lock through one of its windows. That way the car owner will learn of the incident.

Re:Depends how you look at it

[mjwx]

Make useful bike infrastructure and I'd gladly get out of the way of all the idiot cagers. But until we have that I can't

The problem is, you organ donors and mobile speed humps refuse to... even when many millions of dollars are spent on cycle paths... The best excuses I've heard are that they might hit a 30 CM diameter light pole that is off the path (but somehow can avoid 2 metre wide moving cars) and that there may be leaves and detritus on the path which makes it too slippery to ride on (as compared to roads which have the same detritus mixed with motor oil and other lubricants).

Still yet to hear a good reason why road going cyclists shouldn't be licensed and registered. A bicycle is a vehicle like any other on the road but they dont seem to obey red lights, lane markings, minimum speed limits, no left/right turn signs or other turning vehicles. I wonder if that's related to cyclists being so hostile to licensing and registration like other road users.