Arizona suspends self-driving Uber tests.

In continuing coverage of last Sunday’s accident in which a self-driving Uber car struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona, the Wall Street Journal (3/26, Lazo, Bensinger, Subscription Publication, 6.8M) reports Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sent a letter to Uber demanding that the company stop testing its autonomous cars on public roads in Arizona. The New York Times (3/26, Wakabayashi, Subscription Publication, 13.35M) reports Arizona had been allowing Uber to test its vehicles in the state if Uber “would prioritize public safety as it tested the technology,” and the letter, sent to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, said, “The incident that took place on March 18 is an unquestionable failure to comply with this expectation.” The Times calls the letter a “reversal from what has been an open-arms policy by the state, heralding its lack of regulation as an asset to lure autonomous vehicle testing — and tech jobs.” The Arizona Republic (3/26, 984K) similarly writes that in 2016, Ducey “issued an executive order welcoming self-driving car companies to the state without any special oversight.”

        Reuters (3/26) reports Ducey wrote that the video was “disturbing and alarming, and it raises many questions about the ability of Uber to continue testing in Arizona.” Bloomberg News (3/26, Newcomer, 3.41M) reports Ducey said “improving public safety” had been the reason Arizona was trying to attract self-driving vehicle tests to the state, but “Arizona will not tolerate any less than an unequivocal commitment to public safety.” Bloomberg reports that a video showing the moments before the crash “showed the Uber car moving at a constant speed with no attempt to slow down or swerve in the moments before the collision,” and both Waymo and Intel have released statements in the past week that their self-driving vehicles would have detected the pedestrian and responded to the situation.