4 ms·

in response to that piece by Brad, I sincerely hope that the "safety" driver in the uber accident was fired.

mulmen 9y ago
Why? If it is not proven the driver was negligent why fire this individual? Presumably this individual has a lot of experience and domain knowledge in testing self driving cars so replacing them with someone else may not be an improvement. If they did make a mistake that got someone killed that could change things but I would hope we wait to find out if the driver was actually at fault.
- amaranth 9y ago
  I don't think Uber's safety drivers have any domain knowledge. The law says you need bodies in seats so Uber is paying as little as possible to put bodies in seats. They aren't engineers or professional (as in stunt/trick/etc) drivers.
  - deleted 9y ago
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  - deleted 9y ago
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  - mulmen 9y ago
    I’m not sure stunt or trick drivers are the best choice anyway but you make a good point. Do we know this individual’s qualifications or are we just guessing at Uber’s standards?
- devrelm 9y ago
  They released inward-facing video of the safety driver shortly after the incident. The driver was staring at her phone in her lap with only occasional glances at the road every 5 seconds or so. I would call that pretty negligent.
  - mulmen 9y ago
    That certainly doesn’t sound good. Is there footage of the driver at the time of the collision?
    - Lukas_Skywalker 9y ago
      Here after about 10 seconds: https://www.ft.com/video/414f079b-a63d-4b0f-8dcf-b14f66e5ab2c https://www.ft.com/video/414f079b-a63d-4b0f-8dcf-b14f66e5ab2...
  - sundvor 9y ago
    It was more likely the uber iPad data logging app, which they've allowed to be using whilst moving. Can't think it would help with driver's night vision.
  - 8note 9y ago
    to me that sounds like a standard Uber driver
- sincerely 9y ago
  >Presumably this individual has a lot of experience and domain knowledge in testing self driving car How do you arrive at this?
  - mulmen 9y ago
    Well they were in a self driving car working for Uber in the capacity of self driving car test driver so they have more experience than me or anyone I know. But that’s only a presumption as I said.
- jessaustin 9y ago
  Some sources mention a three-week training course. [0] It certainly costs some money to put an employee through such a course, but Uber have the deep pockets here. I'm not saying Ms. Vasquez should be fired before an investigation is complete, and she may be exonerated entirely, but presumably any investigation will take at least three weeks? [0] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5532129/Uber-pilot-devastated-self-driving-car-killing-pedestrian.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5532129/Uber-pilot-d...
phyzome 9y ago
The safety driver is basically irrelevant, beyond being a scapegoat. I've written up some words on this: https://www.brainonfire.net/blog/2018/03/23/safety-driver-sham-scapegoat-uber-desert-bus/ https://www.brainonfire.net/blog/2018/03/23/safety-driver-sh...
- scrumper 9y ago
  I mAde a similar comment on the video link last week. The good news is that the NTSB is extremely good at human factors stuff - google Cockpit Resource Management for a fascinating trip down the aviation safety rabbit hole. I sadly agree with you on the scapegoat point.

Why? If it is not proven the driver was negligent why fire this individual? Presumably this individual has a lot of experience and domain knowledge in testing self driving cars so replacing them with someone else may not be an improvement. If they did make a mistake that got someone killed that could change things but I would hope we wait to find out if the driver was actually at fault.

amaranth 9y ago
I don't think Uber's safety drivers have any domain knowledge. The law says you need bodies in seats so Uber is paying as little as possible to put bodies in seats. They aren't engineers or professional (as in stunt/trick/etc) drivers.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- mulmen 9y ago
  I’m not sure stunt or trick drivers are the best choice anyway but you make a good point. Do we know this individual’s qualifications or are we just guessing at Uber’s standards?
devrelm 9y ago
They released inward-facing video of the safety driver shortly after the incident. The driver was staring at her phone in her lap with only occasional glances at the road every 5 seconds or so. I would call that pretty negligent.
- mulmen 9y ago
  That certainly doesn’t sound good. Is there footage of the driver at the time of the collision?
  - Lukas_Skywalker 9y ago
    Here after about 10 seconds: https://www.ft.com/video/414f079b-a63d-4b0f-8dcf-b14f66e5ab2c https://www.ft.com/video/414f079b-a63d-4b0f-8dcf-b14f66e5ab2...
- sundvor 9y ago
  It was more likely the uber iPad data logging app, which they've allowed to be using whilst moving. Can't think it would help with driver's night vision.
- 8note 9y ago
  to me that sounds like a standard Uber driver
sincerely 9y ago
>Presumably this individual has a lot of experience and domain knowledge in testing self driving car How do you arrive at this?
- mulmen 9y ago
  Well they were in a self driving car working for Uber in the capacity of self driving car test driver so they have more experience than me or anyone I know. But that’s only a presumption as I said.
jessaustin 9y ago
Some sources mention a three-week training course. [0] It certainly costs some money to put an employee through such a course, but Uber have the deep pockets here. I'm not saying Ms. Vasquez should be fired before an investigation is complete, and she may be exonerated entirely, but presumably any investigation will take at least three weeks? [0] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5532129/Uber-pilot-devastated-self-driving-car-killing-pedestrian.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5532129/Uber-pilot-d...

phyzome 9y ago

The safety driver is basically irrelevant, beyond being a scapegoat. I've written up some words on this: https://www.brainonfire.net/blog/2018/03/23/safety-driver-sham-scapegoat-uber-desert-bus/ https://www.brainonfire.net/blog/2018/03/23/safety-driver-sh...

scrumper 9y ago
I mAde a similar comment on the video link last week. The good news is that the NTSB is extremely good at human factors stuff - google Cockpit Resource Management for a fascinating trip down the aviation safety rabbit hole. I sadly agree with you on the scapegoat point.