Some thoughts from a Tempe / Phoenix pedestrian: Arizona has the highest pedestrian death rate in the United States. Drivers are incredibly reckless here, and

Some thoughts from a Tempe / Phoenix pedestrian: Arizona has the highest pedestrian death rate in the United States. Drivers are incredibly reckless here, and for people like myself who do not drive jaywalking is never an option. I will not excuse Uber's mistake here. There must be repercussions for their lack of oversight. However, I would like to defend Arizona's loose legislation surrounding self-driving testing on our streets. The honest answer is that the only way forward for self-driving adoption is through real-world data. It's the fastest way to reach global adoption. The faster that companies like Uber and Waymo can improve their technology, the faster we can see a reduction of human drivers on our roads. While this accident was horrible and must serve as a wakeup call, it must be acknowledged that there were 224 pedestrian deaths across Phoenix in 2017. In the past week alone there were 12 pedestrian deaths. This figure has actually increased over the years and makes Arizona a unique data point for auto companies. I am in no way suggesting that Uber should face zero repercussions. However, as a local pedestrian, if you gave me the option to magically switch every vehicle here over to Uber's technology with current specifications I'd take it in a heartbeat. I interact with these vehicles every day, and feel safer with them still.