This BBC story tells of how Uber has pulled its self-driving cars from the roads after an accident which left one of the vehicles on its side on Arizona.
Looks nasty:
Uber have stated that the car was in self-driving mode at the time.
The allegation in this case is that another driver "failed to yield".
Which is why I don't like the idea of self-driving cars. Most drivers rate themselves as having above-average driving skills. This is actually impossible but even the best driver in the world cannot do anything if someone else acts unexpectedly and hits them. The way things stand at the moment - self-driving cars still need someone behind the wheel to take over in the case of an emergency. In which case that person has to be fully alert at all times to what is going on around them - I know I would want to be! But that completely negates the point of a self-driving vehicle.
I'm quite concerned in this case as to how the car ended up on its side - was it travelling too fast? - did it clip the kerb? - did the driver panic when the other car was suddenly in its path?
We know SUVs tend to topple a lot easier than normal cars but even so.
Is this what is known as doing a bit of taxi driving on the side?
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