Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Hit San Francisco’s Roads, Cause Controversies

Driverless cars from Uber are now roaming the streets of San Francisco and picking up passengers, a major step towards the ride-sharing company's goal of pioneering the technology. San Francisco became the second city after Pittsburgh to have Uber's self-driving cars tested for public use.

However, Uber's move caused a stir after regulators in California asked them to stop deploying driverless vehicles because it was illegal. California's Department of Motor Vehicles wrote to Uber saying self-driving cars are not allowed on roads without a testing permit, the New York Times reports.

Uber argued, however, that its driverless cars do not strictly fall under the state's definition of autonomous vehicles as those without a person monitoring it. The company insisted that it is complying with all laws.

Indeed, passengers hailing the self-driving Volvo SUVs will have to share the ride with an Uber safety driver and engineer, TechCrunch reports. The personnel are tasked to monitor the testing of the driverless vehicles, as well as to drive them manually when necessary.

Any passenger in San Francisco who requests for an uberX car using the Uber app will be able to ride of the driverless cars. Uber's Advanced Technologies Group, the company's driverless technology division, is operating the self-driving Volvo XC90 vehicles.

The self-driving vehicles are equipped with radar that uses laser beams, several cameras, and wireless technology. Each vehicle can accommodate three passengers.

Aside from having problems with government regulators, however, questions have yet again been raised about self-driving cars' safety during Uber's test run in San Francisco. A video taken by the dashboard camera of a taxi and reported by various news organizations captured the moment a driverless car ran a red light. Watch the video below.

Some observers wondered why none of the Uber personnel supposedly monitoring the test inside the car hit the brakes. Others commented that driverless cars might not yet be ready to hit the roads.

Still, Uber vowed not to stop its pursuit of driverless technology, saying it is part of their mission to promote reliable transportation all over the world.

Have you taken an Uber driverless car? How was your experience?