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Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

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Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#61

Post by jonknee »

taneq wrote: post #50
jonknee wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there is no such thing as a too reflective vest for bicyclists And to not jaywalk a bike across a street in the dark!

Also maybe to look both ways before crossing the road? Still, the bike and rider were in view front-and-center for plenty of time for an alert driver to brake (if not avoid).

Perhaps, but the pedestrian also did not react at all to the car. Even though she knew she was crossing a street and should look for cars, see the headlights, hear the engine, etc.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#62

Post by csomar »

Is it me or the street lighting is beyond mediocre? It is weak and alternate between a "lighted" portion and a literally black portion.

But even then, the driver was busy with his cellphone. The accident might have happened nevertheless due to bad lighting. But this could have been avoided was the driver on alert.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#63

Post by brokenmachine »

Wow, that self driving car is total crap if it can't pick up that obstacle. Doesn't get much more obvious than that. Slowly walking from the left lane into your lane on a fairly straight road.

I bet it was more visible to the human eye than on that video as well. You'd have to see someone crossing the road like that.

Of course the pedestrian wasn't doing the smartest thing but I believe a human driver would have at least hit the brakes had they been actually looking forward and paying attention.

I thought the actual advantage of self-driving cars is that they're always meant to be looking forward and paying attention. That doesn't appear to have happened in this case.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#64

Post by dogweather »

An alert human driver would still have had a bad crash, but might not have killed the pedestrian.

In a two-lane road, you cannot simply swerve to the other lane w/out checking. I (and many other?) drivers would have just slammed on the brakes. But at that road's speed limit, I believe the brakes wouldn't have stopped in time, and a collision would still have occurred.

The pedestrian+bicycle was a direct obstacle, not at some slim and oblique angle. So it is odd that the car's collision detection didn't pick up on it.

tldr; a human driver may or may not have done better.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#65

Post by slavik81 »

Why is the car driving at full speed if it can't see the road ahead? Does the car know that visibility is low? What other sensors are they using? Did the car notice the pedestrian once they were fully lit up?

This video raises so many questions. I think we're going to be revisiting this incident over and over again in papers, reports and eventually textbooks.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#66

Post by conception »

ryduh wrote: post #47
dogweather wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't know that new Subaru's can come with driver assist. How does it work? What's your experience with it? I've got a 2013, and am thinking about trading in.

I love our 2017 Outback w/ EyeSight. Luckily, we haven't had to test the auto braking system at high speeds but the lane assist and assisted cruise control are wonderful.

Mine's kept me from hitting something while parking. It's awesome.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#68

Post by jakeogh »

freehunter wrote: post #42
jonknee wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there is no such thing as a too reflective vest for bicyclists And to not jaywalk a bike across a street in the dark!

Since I've seen this be a very controversial statement here in the past, I'd just like to point out to everyone that American drivers on four lane roads are not expecting pedestrians to be in the middle of the road and not at a crosswalk. That is not a normal thing to happen in America, and no one expects it to happen. It is a very rare situation. --edit: okay guys... no where did anyone argue that you shouldn't be w…

I have driven in the US for over 20 years and have the opposite experience. I am constantly looking for people, animals (deer are quite dangerous to hit, and they move _way_ faster) and lost count long long ago how many times I have been in very similar or worse situations.

It's not even remotely rare. Drive on campus or downtown in AZ for a more than a few minutes.

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#69

Post by chki »

freehunter wrote: post #42
jonknee wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there is no such thing as a too reflective vest for bicyclists And to not jaywalk a bike across a street in the dark!

Since I've seen this be a very controversial statement here in the past, I'd just like to point out to everyone that American drivers on four lane roads are not expecting pedestrians to be in the middle of the road and not at a crosswalk. That is not a normal thing to happen in America, and no one expects it to happen. It is a very rare situation. --edit: okay guys... no where did anyone argue that you shouldn't be w…

I think you can generally say that there are few countries where one would expect people to cross a four lane road without watching out for cars. I'm not sure why you would think that to be a controversial statement, especially considering that the person being hit in the video is also not just walking on the street but crossing it.

Obviously the concrete level of awareness that drivers usually have is probably related to a lot of other circumstances (light conditions/amount of traffic etc.)

Re: Tempe Police Release Video of Uber Accident

#70

Post by malandrew »

lhorie wrote: post #60
Treblemaker wrote: post #32

The first question that comes to my mind watching this, is, why didn't the _pedestrian_ see the _car_? It looks as though she didn't even look up until the car was only a few feet away from here. I'm not just trying to "blame the victim". The car "should" have responded sooner. But see-and-avoid works both ways. If you're choosing to cross a road in the dark, you, too, have a responsibility to understand the drivers'…

A theory that occurred to me last night is that if she was homeless, she may also have had an untreated eye condition such as myopia.

What about sound? Also, with myopia you should still be able to see a light source traveling towards you.
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