Despite two fatal accidents involving semi-autonomous cars occurring within days of each other in March, testing of the technology continues. On April 2, California expanded its testing rules to allow for remote monitoring instead of a safety driver inside the vehicle. Waymo and another company have since applied to begin testing vehicles without drivers in the state. While neighboring states Arizona and Nevada also allow testing without a safety driver, California is both the most populous state and also the home to many of the companies' testing vehicles. States should learn from regulations that promote innovation and safety at the same time.
An Uber vehicle with a safety driver struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona on March 18; Uber quickly suspended all testing of its autonomous fleet while it investigates the causes of the crash. On March 23, the driver of a Tesla in autonomous mode died when the vehicle crashed into a highway median in Mountain View, California. Tesla has not suspended the feature in its vehicles while the company and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigate the causes of that crash. Since proponents highlight the safety improvements of driverless cars, these fatalities will invite stricter scrutiny of the claims of the technology.
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