Internal Uber email announces shutdown of Arizona driverless car testing

Enlarge / NTSB officials inspecting the vehicle that killed Elaine Herzberg in a March crash in Arizona. (credit: NTSB)

Uber is shutting down testing of self-driving cars in Arizona after one of its cars killed a pedestrian in a March crash. In an internal email, Uber executive Eric Meyhofer wrote that Uber would be shifting its focus to Pittsburgh, where the company has been testing self-driving cars since 2016, and San Francisco, where Uber is headquartered.

Uber's testing program has been grounded nationwide since the March crash, but until now it wasn't known how long it would take to get back up and running. Uber hopes to resume testing in Pittsburgh this summer.

Meyhofer also indicated that Uber would be changing how it tested its driverless cars. "When we get back on the road, we intend to drive in a much more limited way to test specific use cases," Meyhofer wrote. "Taking this approach will allow us to continually hone the safety aspects of our software and operating procedures. We have also used the past two months to strengthen our simulation capability, which will allow us to be more efficient with our use of road miles."

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