Driverless Cars Are Growing in Number, but Makers Don’t Want to Reveal How They Sometimes Fail
On March 18, a robot-driven Volvo operated by Uber hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. Advocates for automation maintained that the tragedy shouldn't detract from the likelihood that driverless technology is eliminating human error and making driving safer. But...
For a Much Needed Win, Self-Driving Cars Should Aim Lower
MORE THAN A month after a self-driving Uber struck and killed a pedestrian crossing the street in Arizona, it’s still not clear what sort of failure might explain the crash—or how to prevent it happening again. While the National Transportation Safety Board...
Self-driving Cars Hitting Red Lights
Federal and state officials, once eager advocates of self-driving cars, now are pumping the brakes and demanding greater accountability and information that autos and tech companies may not be willing to provide. Until now, governments have been willing to let private...
Tesla Keeps Using Disputed Crash Stat to Defend Autopilot
Tesla Inc.’s ardent defense of its Autopilot system is getting heat from safety advocates who question a key data point the company has been citing to plead its case. Several times since an Autopilot-linked fatality last month, the electric-car maker has claimed the...
The Way We Regulate Self-driving Cars is Broken—Here’s How to Fix It
The first driverless cars will be rented, not sold—that has major implications. Crash reports could provide an early warning system At least one state has taken an important step in this direction: California requires companies testing driverless cars to report every...