Last December, a self-driving Uber was caught on camera running a red light in San Francisco, shortly after the vehicles began testing on the roads. While Uber claimed at the time that a driver was at fault, a report from The New York Times claims that the car was in error.
The New York Times cites two company employees and internal company documents that reveal that the mapping programs guiding the vehicle in question failed to recognize six traffic lights, which allowed it to roll through a red light last December.
Shortly after the pilot project in San Francisco began, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registrations of the cars after the company failed to apply for a $150 permit. Uber then brought the cars to Arizona to resume testing, and are now picking up passengers in the state.
The ride-sharing company has had a rough week after allegations of systemic sexual harassment from a former employee came to light, as well as a lawsuit from Alphabet’s Waymo claiming that Uber stole key technology for their self-driving car program.
We’ve reached out to Uber for comment on the incident, and will update if we hear back.