Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey suspended Uber’s testing of autonomous cars in Arizona yesterday with a letter citing the company’s “unquestionable failure” to comply with Arizona’s safety expectations for the industry.
In follow-up Tweets, he said he brought self-driving cars here to “test and flourish … but public safety comes first."
I was personally very disturbed by the video Tempe Police released. I know others were too. Raises questions that need to be answered. 2 federal investigations will help. These are independent and led by experts. I want to see the facts. 1/4
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) March 27, 2018
Autonomous vehicles hold enormous promise. For me, from the beginning, it's all been about public safety. Can this technology reduce fatalities? Our cars are safer, our roads are safer, but human-case fatalities keep going up. 2/4
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) March 27, 2018
Arizona has allowed this technology to test and flourish. We will continue to encourage innovation. But public safety comes first. It's always been our focus and it will remain our focus. 3/4
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) March 27, 2018
We will hold companies accountable. We will enforce the law. We will take strong action against any company or operator that does not demonstrate they are ready for primetime. If you're going to operate in Arizona; you will have to meet these standards. 4/4
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) March 27, 2018
Daisuke Wakabayashi has reported extensively on Uber and the self-driving car industry for the The New York Times and he joined The Show to talk about the impact of Arizona's decision.
The Show also turned to attorney Jonathan Frutkin to get perspective on how Uber’s shutdown might affect Arizonans.
