Transportation
Former Uber Backup Driver: 'We Saw This Coming'
Before the fatal crash in Tempe, Uber’s self-driving test program had safety weaknesses, ex-employees say. Some weren’t avoidable, technologists believe, but some might have been.
The first time Ryan Kelley lifted his hands off the wheel of a self-driving Uber, he felt like he’d landed a role in a dress rehearsal for the future.
This was in February of 2017 in Pittsburgh, where Uber had been testing SUVs equipped with proprietary self-driving technology on public streets for about five months. Some of the vehicles picked up passengers through Uber’s regular ride-hailing app—the first time self-driving cars had been so accessible in a U.S. market.