It’s been a rough week in Arizona for autonomous vehicles.
Last week a Phoenix police motorcycle got a little tap from a Tesla while reportedly operating in autopilot, according to reports. The event happened days before Uber’s self-driving Volvo was involved in a rollover crash caused by another driver in Tempe, causing the company to put its self-driving efforts on hold in Arizona.
In the first accident, a Phoenix officer reported that a Tesla driver struck him from behind while waiting at a stoplight. The driver stopped briefly, according to the officer, and then the Tesla started moving forward, causing the off-duty officer to jump off the motorcycle and move away. The car struck the fallen motorcycle, but caused no damage.
The officer later estimated the car was moving at about three miles-per-hour. No citations were issued.
According to police spokesperson Sgt. Alan Pfohl:
It was pretty much a tap. It wasn’t even a reportable collision. If it wasn’t involving an officer, we would not have even investigated it.
Update: We mistakenly reported the Uber crash to have involved a Lexus. It was a Volvo.
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