Uber’s self-driving car crashes and flips in Arizona
Technology takes time to perfect, but in an age where sci-fi keeps becoming sci-fact it's easy to forget it has flaws
Key takeaways
- A self-driving car operated by Uber was involved in a crash earlier this morning in Tempe, Arizona, in what is just one of a series of dramatic setbacks for the king of start ups.
- Uber’s self-driving cars began picking up customers in Arizona last month after the ride sharing company fled San Francisco when the Californian DMV revoked their licenses.
- Uber, and CEO Travis Kalanick, are under scrutiny because of a series of scandals.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'Uber’s self-driving car crashes and flips in Arizona', 311 Institute, 25 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/ubers-self-driving-car-crashes-and-its-bad/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
A self-driving car operated by Uber was involved in a crash earlier this morning in Tempe, Arizona, in what is just one of a series of dramatic setbacks for the king of start ups.
In a photo posted on Twitter, one of Uber’s Volvo self-driving SUVs is pictured on its side next to another car with dents and smashed windows, and an Uber spokeswoman has since confirmed the incident - and the validity of the photo.
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#BREAKING #NEWS: Self-driving #Uber #car on it’s side after a #crash in Tempe, AZ. @GFMagazine_USA Photos by @fresconews user Mark Beach pic.twitter.com/yQo0LPlzTM
Matthew Griffin (@mgriffin_uk) March 25, 2017
However, the spokeswoman couldn't immediately confirm if there were any injuries, or whether the car was carrying passengers. Uber’s self-driving cars began picking up customers in Arizona last month after the ride sharing company fled San Francisco when the Californian DMV revoked their licenses.
Uber, and CEO Travis Kalanick, are under scrutiny because of a series of scandals. The ride hailing company has been accused of operating a sexist workplace. This month, the New York Times reported that Uber used a tool called Greyball to help drivers evade government regulators and enforcement officials. And Kalanick said he needed "leadership help" after Bloomberg published a video showing him arguing with an Uber driver.
Uber’s self-driving car program has also been mired in controversy, and this incident is by no means the first with others reported in San Francisco last year where Uber's self-driving cars ran red lights - something which, in the end, was attributed to the technology rather than the drivers, as Uber had originally claimed.
Meanwhile Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving business, sued an Uber unit called Otto earlier this year for allegedly stealing designs for an important component of driverless cars known as lidar. Uber called the suit "baseless."
The photo, showing the Uber SUV on its side, suggests a relatively high-impact crash. That would be a contrast to the incidents involving self-driving cars tested by Waymo. In more than two million miles of testing on public roads, Waymo’s vehicles were mostly minor incidents, often when other cars drove into the back of their vehicles in busy areas.
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Why does this matter?
Technology takes time to perfect, but in an age where sci-fi keeps becoming sci-fact it's easy to forget it has flaws
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 25 March 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). Uber’s self-driving car crashes and flips in Arizona. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/ubers-self-driving-car-crashes-and-its-bad/
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