>If Uber had directed a five year old to drive the SUV, with a back-up driver ready to take control, I think everyone would agree that qualifies as gross neglig

>If Uber had directed a five year old to drive the SUV, with a back-up driver ready to take control, I think everyone would agree that qualifies as gross negligence notwithstanding the presence of the back-up driver. This is a bad analogy. First, Uber's software is much better than a 5 year old. A 5 year old would have hit something well before a jaywalking pedestrian. Second, the backup driver was fully capable of stopping the vehicle, or navigating around the jaywalker. The person they hired is responsible for safe operation of the vehicle. They failed.