By TOM KRISHER | The Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Uber has decided to stop testing autonomous vehicles on California public roads by letting its state permit expire on Saturday without renewing it.

If the ride-hailing service wants to return to the state, it will have to get a new permit and address any investigations into a crash involving one of its autonomous test SUVs in Arizona that killed a pedestrian, the California DMV said in a letter sent to the company on Tuesday.

“Any application for a new permit will need to address any follow-up analysis or investigations from the recent crash in Arizona and may also require a meeting with the department,” said the letter from DMV Deputy Director Brian Soublet.

California is the second state in which Uber won’t be able to test autonomous vehicles on public roads. On Monday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey suspended Uber’s self-driving vehicle testing privileges due to the crash.

On the night of March 18 an Uber autonomous Volvo SUV struck and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was walking a bicycle across a darkened boulevard in Tempe, near Phoenix. Experts have told The Associated Press that the SUV’s laser and radar sensors should have spotted Herzberg, and the vehicle should have stopped. In addition, the SUV’s human backup driver appeared to be looking down before the crash and had a stunned look when it happened, according to dash camera video released by police.

 Immediately after the crash, Uber voluntarily suspended its autonomous vehicle testing in Arizona, as well as California, Pittsburgh and Toronto. The company said in a statement that it decided not to reapply for the California permit “with the understanding that our self-driving vehicles would not operate in the state in the immediate future.”

California is a relatively small testing ground for Uber with 29 vehicles permitted for testing. The company has about 200 vehicles at all four testing locations.

Uber is still allowed to test on public roads in Pennsylvania and Ontario. Pennsylvania said in a statement that it will work with Uber to “ensure any restart of testing is done with safety as the top priority.” Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation said it is watching developments in Arizona and will consider appropriate measure when more is known.

The Uber crash is being investigated by Tempe police, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It has caused angst across the tech and auto businesses, with companies such as Toyota and NVIDIA suspending their autonomous vehicle tests on public roads. NVIDIA’s fleet is small in California.

John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, formerly Google’s self-driving car unit, has expressed confidence in his company’s system and its ability to interact with pedestrians.

Mobileye, an Israeli unit of Intel that makes software brains that interpret what sensors are seeing, has called for the industry to discuss a framework to validate the safety of autonomous vehicles.</s>TEMPE, Ariz. (Reuters) - The family of a woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc self-driving vehicle in Arizona has reached a settlement with the ride services company, ending a potential legal battle over the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle.

Cristina Perez Hesano, an attorney with the firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said “the matter has been resolved” between Uber and the daughter and husband of Elaine Herzberg, 49, who died after being hit by an Uber self-driving SUV while walking across a street in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe earlier this month.

Terms of the settlement were not given. The law firm representing Herzberg’s daughter and husband, whose names were not disclosed, said they would have no further comment on the matter as they considered it resolved.

An Uber spokeswoman declined to comment.

The fallout from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, designed to eventually perform far better than human drivers and to sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year.

Uber has suspended its testing in the wake of the incident. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) have also suspended self-driving testing on public roads, as they and others await the results of investigations into the Tempe accident, believed to be the first death of a pedestrian struck by a self-driving vehicle.

Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, said Uber does not use the chipmaker’s self-driving platform architecture.

Toyota North America Chief Executive Jim Lentz said the company expects to “soon” resume testing of self-driving vehicles, while warning that the ongoing risks will affect the industry’s progress.

“There will be mistakes from vehicles, from systems, and a hundred or 500 or a thousand people could lose their lives in accidents like we’ve seen in Arizona,” Lentz said Thursday at a Reuters Newsmakers event connected with the New York auto show.

“The big question for government is: How much risk are they willing to take? If you can save net 34,000 lives, are you willing to potentially have 10 or 100 or 500 or 1,000 people die?” he said. “And I think the answer to that today is they are not willing to take that risk - and that’s going to really slow down the adoption of autonomous driving.”

Slideshow (3 Images)

The March 18 fatality near downtown Tempe also presents an unprecedented liability challenge because self-driving vehicles, which are still in the development stage, involve a complex system of hardware and software often made by outside suppliers.

Herzberg was pushing a bicycle while walking across a four-lane road outside a crosswalk when she was struck. Video footage from a dash-mounted camera inside the vehicle, released by Tempe police, showed the SUV traveling along a dark street when the headlights suddenly illuminated Herzberg in front of the SUV.

Other footage showed that in the seconds before the accident, the human safety driver behind the wheel was mostly looking down, not at the road.</s>Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey suspended Uber's self-driving vehicle testing privileges Monday in the wake of a pedestrian fatality in a Phoenix suburb last week.

Ducey told the company CEO Dara Khosrowshahi that video footage of the crash raised concerns about the company's ability to safely test its technology in Arizona. He said he expects public safety to be the top priority for those who operate self-driving cars.

"The incident that took place on March 18 is an unquestionable failure to comply with this expectation," Ducey said.

The move by the Republican governor marks a major step back from his embrace of self-driving vehicles. He previously welcomed Uber and other autonomous vehicle companies to use Arizona as a place for testing under few, if any, regulations. In early March, he authorized self-driving vehicle companies to run tests without a person in the car to act as a safety operator.

Police in Tempe released a 22-second video showing a woman walking from a darkened area onto a street just before an Uber SUV strikes her. The Volvo was in self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, police said.

Uber's human backup driver appears on the video to be looking down before crash and appears startled about the time of the impact.

Experts who viewed the video told The Associated Press that the SUV's sensors should have seen the woman pushing a bicycle and braked before the impact.

The fatal crash in Tempe was the first fatality involving a self-driving vehicle in the United States.

Uber immediately suspended its self-driving vehicle testing in Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that the company's own documents showed the testing program was rife with issues. They included trouble driving through construction zones and requiring far more human intervention than competing companies.

In Arizona, companies such as Uber only need to carry minimum liability insurance to operate self-driving cars. They are not required to track crashes or report any information to the state.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</s>DETROIT (AP) – Uber has decided to stop testing autonomous vehicles on California public roads by letting its state permit expire on Saturday without renewing it.

If the ride-hailing service wants to return to the state, it will have to get a new permit and address any investigations into a crash involving one of its autonomous test SUVs in Arizona that killed a pedestrian, the California DMV said in a letter sent to the company on Tuesday.

“Any application for a new permit will need to address any follow-up analysis or investigations from the recent crash in Arizona and may also require a meeting with the department,” said the letter from DMV Deputy Director Brian Soublet.

California is the second state in which Uber won’t be able to test autonomous vehicles on public roads. On Monday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey suspended Uber’s self-driving vehicle testing privileges due to the crash.

On the night of March 18 an Uber autonomous Volvo SUV struck and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was walking a bicycle across a darkened boulevard in Tempe, near Phoenix. Experts have told The Associated Press that the SUV’s laser and radar sensors should have spotted Herzberg, and the vehicle should have stopped. In addition, the SUV’s human backup driver appeared to be looking down before the crash and had a stunned look when it happened, according to dash camera video released by police.

Immediately after the crash, Uber voluntarily suspended its autonomous vehicle testing in Arizona, as well as California, Pittsburgh and Toronto. The company said in a statement that it decided not to reapply for the California permit “with the understanding that our self-driving vehicles would not operate in the state in the immediate future.”

California is a relatively small testing ground for Uber with 29 vehicles permitted for testing. The company has about 200 vehicles at all four testing locations.

Uber is still allowed to test on public roads in Pennsylvania and Ontario. Pennsylvania said in a statement that it will work with Uber to “ensure any restart of testing is done with safety as the top priority.” Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation said it is watching developments in Arizona and will consider appropriate measure when more is known.

The Uber crash is being investigated by Tempe police, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It has caused angst across the tech and auto businesses, with companies such as Toyota and NVIDIA suspending their autonomous vehicle tests on public roads. NVIDIA’s fleet is small in California.

John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, which is Google’s self-driving car unit, has expressed confidence in his company’s system and its ability to interact with pedestrians.

Mobileye, an Israeli unit of Intel that makes software brains that interpret what sensors are seeing, has called for the industry to discuss a framework to validate the safety of autonomous vehicles.</s>Uber Reaches Settlement With Family Of Arizona Woman Killed By Driverless Car

Uber Technologies has reached a settlement with the family of the woman killed earlier this month in Tempe, Arizona, after one of the company's driverless test vehicles struck her as she was crossing a street.

Member station KJZZ in Tempe reports that an attorney for the victim's family, Christina Perez Hesano, confirmed the settlement Wednesday night, but provided few details.

"The matter has been resolved," Hesano said, adding that the settlement was between Uber and the daughter and husband of Elaine Herzberg, 49.

The names of Herzberg's daughter and husband were not disclosed and the attorney said there would be no further comment.

Herzberg was seen in a dashcam video released last week from the self-driving SUV that hit her. It shows her walking a bicycle across a darkened road moments before the fatal impact.

Her death is believed to be the first involving a pedestrian struck by a self-driving vehicle.

An internal camera in the Uber test vehicle showed the human safety driver mostly looking down and not at the road in the moments before the crash.

KJZZ's Jimmy Jenkins says that earlier this week Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey instructed the Department of Transportation to suspend Uber's ability to test driverless cars on public roadways in Arizona.

Uber says it has halted testing while it works with the police and federal officials to learn more about the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board says its investigation into the incident will take 12 to 14 months.</s>The family of the woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc self-driving vehicle in Arizona has reached a settlement with the ride services company, ending a potential legal battle over the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle. The law firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said the deal had been reached between Uber and daughter and husband of Elaine Herzberg, 49, who died after being hit by an Uber self-driving SUV in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe earlier this month.

For all the latest Business News, download Indian Express App</s>TEMPE, Ariz. (Reuters) - The family of the woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] self-driving vehicle in Arizona has reached a settlement with the ride services company, ending a potential legal battle over the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle.

Cristina Perez Hesano, attorney with the firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said “the matter has been resolved” between Uber and daughter and husband of Elaine Herzberg, 49, who died after being hit by an Uber self-driving SUV in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe earlier this month.

Terms of the settlement were not given. The law firm representing them said that Herzberg’s daughter and husband, whose names were not disclosed, will have no further comment on the matter as they consider it resolved.

Fall-out from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, which are designed to eventually perform far better than human drivers and sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year.

Uber has suspended its testing in the wake of the incident. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) have also suspended self-driving car testing on public roads, as they and other companies await the results of an ongoing investigation into the Tempe incident, which is believed to be the first death of a pedestrian struck by a self-driving vehicle.

Uber does not use the self-driving platform architecture of Nvidia, the chipmaker’s Chief Executive Jensen Huang said on Wednesday.

The March 18 fatality near downtown Tempe also presents an unprecedented liability challenge because self-driving vehicles, which are still in the development stage, involve a complex system of hardware and software often made by outside suppliers.

Herzberg was was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road when she was struck. A video taken from a dash-mounted camera inside the vehicle that was released by Tempe police showed the SUV traveling along a dark street when suddenly the headlights illuminated Herzberg in front of the SUV.

Other footage showed the human driver who was behind the wheel mostly looking down and not at the road in the seconds before the accident.</s>The family’s attorneys have revealed that they will no longer be commenting on the incident as the issue has already been resolved by both parties.

Uber has reportedly reached a settlement deal with the family of the victim that was killed by a self-driving car in Arizona. According to Reuters, Uber Technologies Inc. apparently dodged a big legal bullet by settling the case outside of the courts. If the family were to pursue a case, it could have been a huge and expensive legal battle for the company seeing as that it was the world’s first autonomous car crash that claimed the life of a pedestrian.

The incident that happened a week ago instantly became viral as two videos of the crash were uploaded online. The first video showed the autonomous Uber hitting Elain Herzberg as she was walking across the road with her bicycle in tow. The second video showed a distracted safety operator reacting in shock as the vehicle hit the pedestrian. The 49-year-old Arizona resident eventually died from her injuries after being hit by the large SUV, which should have been able to spot her, in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe.

Uber’s attorney, Cristina Perez Hesano, recently released a statement, which clarified that the case involving the victim’s family has already been resolved. The company reportedly reached a settlement with the victim’s husband and her daughter. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. The family’s lawyers have also announced that they will no longer be commenting on the issue as the matter has already been resolved by both parties. The names of Herzberg’s husband and her daughter have also reportedly been kept off the record as per their request.

As reported by the National Public Radio, Uber took immediate action after the incident and suspended all of the ongoing tests on its autonomous fleet in Arizona, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Toronto. The company also expressed its intent to fully cooperate with authorities and federal officials in investigating the cause of the freak accident. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey also ordered the Department of Transportation to immediately suspend all autonomous vehicle tests on public roadways within the state.

Toyota and chipmaker Nvidia have also followed suit and announced that they will immediately be halting their self-driving technology tests on public roads. Both companies, along with other technology firms involved in the development of self-driving vehicles, have stated that they will be waiting for the results of the recent incident’s investigation before they decide to continue their public tests and experiments.</s>TEMPE, Ariz. - The family of the woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc self-driving vehicle in Arizona has reached a settlement with the ride services company, ending a potential legal battle over the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle.

Cristina Perez Hesano, attorney with the firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said "the matter has been resolved"between Uber and daughter and husband of Elaine Herzberg, 49, who died after being hit by an Uber self-driving SUV in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe earlier this month.

Terms of the settlement were not given. The law firm representing them said that Herzberg's daughter and husband, whose names were not disclosed, will have no further comment on the matter as they consider it resolved.

Fall-out from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, which are designed to eventually perform far better than human drivers and sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year.

Uber and microchip developer Nvidia Corp have put self-driving car testing programs on hold following the fatality, which is believed to be the first death of a pedestrian struck by a self-driving vehicle.

The fatality also presents an unprecedented liability challenge because self-driving vehicles, which are still in the development stage, involve a complex system of hardware and software often made by outside suppliers.

Herzberg was jay-walking across a divided four-lane road with her bicycle when she was struck.

A video taken from a dash-mounted camera inside the vehicle that was released by Tempe police showed the SUV travelling along a dark street when suddenly the headlights illuminated Herzberg in front of the SUV.

Other footage showed the human driver who was behind the wheel mostly looking down and not at the road in the seconds before the accident.</s>PHOENIX — The family of an Arizona woman killed when struck by an autonomous Uber vehicle apparently has reached a settlement with the company.

Cristina Perez Hesano, an attorney for the daughter and husband of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, said the matter “has been resolved.”

Herzberg was killed March 18 as she walked her bike across a dark street in Tempe, a Phoenix suburb.

Uber representatives Sarah Abboud and Matthew Wing separately responded about a possible settlement by saying the San Francisco-based company is declining to comment.

The company previously expressed sympathy for Herzberg’s family and said it would cooperate with investigators.

There was no indication Herzberg’s relatives had filed a lawsuit against Uber in connection with the crash, which Tempe police and federal agencies are investigating.

On March 21, Tempe police released a 22-second video showing Herzberg walking from a darkened area onto a street just before an Uber SUV strikes her.

The Volvo was in self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck Herzberg, police said.

The human backup driver appears to be looking down until just before impact.

The fatal crash in Tempe was the first pedestrian fatality involving a self-driving vehicle in the United States.

Uber suspended its autonomous vehicle testing program in Arizona, California, Pittsburgh and Toronto after the crash.

Ducey said in a letter to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi that video footage of the crash raised concerns about the company’s ability to safely test its technology in Arizona.

Ducey said he expects public safety to be the top priority for those who operate self-driving cars.

“The incident that took place on March 18 is an unquestionable failure to comply with this expectation,” Ducey said.

Ducey previously welcomed Uber and other autonomous vehicle companies to use Arizona as a place for testing under few, if any, regulations.

In early March, he authorized self-driving vehicle companies to run tests without a person in the car to act as a safety operator.
Uber reaches an out-of-court settlement with the victim's family.