Autonomous mode of Uber cars has been struggling for a long time

Uber’s self-driving cars had been underperforming for months before last week’s accident. Backup drivers still had to intervene on a relatively regular basis.

A document in the hands of The New York Times shows that Uber struggled to meet its goal of having to intervene no more than once every 13 miles. Google’s autonomous cars, on the other hand, were able to drive about 9000 kilometers last year before an intervention was necessary.

According to The New York Times, the cars had long struggled to drive through areas with roadworks or next to large trucks. The project was under pressure as Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was expected to ride in an autonomous car in April and developers wanted to give it a hassle-free ride.

Last week, an Uber self-driving car was involved in an accident with a pedestrian crossing the road. The pedestrian was killed. Investigations revealed that the backup driver was not paying close attention, but that the accident had been difficult to avoid. The pedestrian crossed the road from the shadows and was only visible at the last moment. The pedestrian could have been detected with the Lidar sensors of the car. Why this did not happen is not clear.

The Uber car involved in the accident