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Uber Knows Its AI Cars Have a Problem with Bike Lanes, Won't Stop the Project

Uber, the company we all know - and some even love - is currently held up in a faceoff with the DMV California over its allegedly illegal use of autonomous cars in the city of San Francisco.
Uber's self-driving Volvo XC90 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Last week, we were quite amused by what happened with one of the company's self-driving Volvo XC90 SUVs. Well, we wouldn't have been laughing if anything bad actually happened, but the irony of the situation was just too much.

A few hours after the ridehailing company announced that people using its services in San Francisco might be asked whether they'd like to be picked up by a self-driven car, one of its Volvos was spotted (and filmed) running a red light just as a pedestrian was getting ready to cross.

The DMV got hold of the footage and immediately asked Uber to cease its operations until it got a permit, like everyone else. In turn, Uber said "ha!" and continued with its business unabated.

Now, though, it has to deal with another issue. It would appear that Uber's self-driving cars aren't very good at minding the bicycle lanes and the bikes that go on them when performing a right turn (to be fair, most drivers aren't either). That resulted in a few close calls already, two of which were even spotted by Brian Weidenmeier, the executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

Brian Weidenmeier talked to Uber about this problem, and the company finally admitted it's not perfect and might have to work a little on this issue, according to The Verge. However, that doesn't mean the project will be halted until a solution was found - no, not at all. Instead, the Uber technicians who are filling the driver's seat of these cars at all times are asked to temporarily take control of the vehicle and perform the maneuver themselves.

Does that mean Uber updated its advertising of this service accordingly - "ride in an Uber self-driving car, minus right-hand turns that involve crossing a bicycle path." Probably not.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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