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Showing posts with label Chandler. Show all posts

Monday, March 27, 2017

Uber's Cars Back On The Road After Accident

Uber's self-driving cars back on the road after Friday crash in Tempe

Ryan Randazzo , The Republic | azcentral.com12:16 p.m. MT March 27, 2017

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An Uber autonomous SUV was involved in a three-vehicle collision in Tempe on March 24, 2017. Wochit

Uber will return its self-driving cars to roads in Tempe today following an accident Friday that prompted the ride-hailing company to temporarily "ground" its fleet of Volvo SUVs.

On Friday, a driver in Tempe was cited for making an illegal left turn and hitting one of Uber's test cars, which was in self-driving mode with a test driver behind the wheel and another in the passenger seat. The Uber car ended up on its side, and a third car was struck. Nobody was seriously injured.

Uber temporarily halted the program to investigate the accident and gain a better understanding of what happened, but a spokesperson said Monday the company will redeploy its fleet here and in Pittsburgh, where it also is testing.

Uber brought its fleet of self-driving cars to Arizona amid much fanfare last year following a dispute with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which requires companies operating self-driving cars to report on their operations. Arizona has no rules specific to self-driving cars.

MORE: What we know about self-driving cars in Arizona

The vehicles use a combination of cameras, lidar and other sensors to guide them, though all self-driving cars operating in Arizona today have test drivers behind the wheel to take control if needed.

Indications are Uber is far behind rival Waymo in developing driverless cars. The two are involved in litigation regarding the technology.

Waymo, formerly known as Google's Self Driving Car Project, was involved in three crashes last year in Chandler, but did not stop its vehicle testing.

The California DMV reports include figures on how frequently the drivers must take control of the cars.

Waymo drives its cars in California an average of 5,000 miles before a human driver is required to take over and handle an unusual traffic situation, according to its 2016 report to the California DMV.

Waymo's figures are exponentially better than Ford, Tesla, Nissan and other companies with similar reports filed at the California DMV; however, each company may define the disengagements differently according to how their cars work.

Even though Uber has returned some cars to California, it has not yet reported on their operations.

However, some of its internal documents reportedly leaked to the media show the Uber vehicles tested in Arizona only traveling about 200 miles on average before needing a driver to take over, and only about 2 miles between unpleasant braking or jerking.

Uber officials declined to comment on the figures Monday.

Tempe and Chandler have become the latest hot spots in a tech trend that aims to change commutes across the globe: self-driving cars. Wochit

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Yup, This Guy Looks Like Your Run Of The Mill Skin Head, Militia Follower, KKK Member! His Apology Is An Attempt To Avoid Jail, Nothing Else.

HATE CRIME HOAX? MAN CLAIMS MENORAH SWASTIKA WAS ‘PRANK’

Man apologizes on Facebook amid admission of guilt

Adan Salazar | Infowars.com - MARCH 21, 2017 193 Comments

Hate Crime Hoax? Man Claims Menorah Swastika was 'Prank'

IMAGE CREDITS: NAOMI A ELLIS, FACEBOOK.

An Arizona man and three teens were arrested last week suspected of perpetrating an anti-Semitic hate crime involving a menorah statue that was reshaped into a swastika.

Chandler police on Friday arrested Clive Jamar Wilson, 19, and three other teens whose names were not revealed due to their age, on charges of first-degree criminal trespass and aggravated criminal damage.

The incident which happened on December 30 received widespread attention, and left a Chandler family celebrating Hanukkah notably shaken. Chandler police detectives also reached out to the FBI for assistance.

Wilson admitted in a Facebook post Sunday to carrying out the vandalism and apologized, claiming the act was “a very insensitive prank.”

“I have friends from many different backgrounds and cultures. Last December during the holiday season I made a mistake when I joined my friends in a very insensitive prank. If I could turn back the clock and remove myself and my three friends from participating in the horrible prank I would. But I can’t,” Wilson stated on Facebook.

“What we did was reckless, stupid, idiotic, and insensitive. From the bottom of my heart I apologize to your family,” he also wrote.

The family’s patriarch, Seth Ellis, explained he’d built the menorah with his sons aged 5, 7 and 9, using $100 worth of PVC pipe.

“Just waking up to see that first thing is kind of rattling,” Ellis said following the crime. “It just makes me sad and it makes me feel sick that’s still how people look at the world in 2016.”

The Washington Post described Ellis’ discovery of the reconfigured menorah:

Seth Ellis, who works in construction, got up Friday morning at 4 a.m. as usual, and saw that while the family was sleeping, the menorah’s joints had been unscrewed and locked back in place in the spidery directions of a swastika. The vandal or vandals had taken some of the pieces entirely. The Ellises called the police.

Ellis and his wife were able to disassemble the swastika with help from police before the children were able to witness it.

Naomi Ellis asserted the family was “victimized by hate,” and said her children were aware of the anti-Semitic history behind the swastika symbol.

“They know about the Holocaust. They know about Nazis,” Naomi said. “This is the real reality that we live in: People hate us for no reason or want us to feel scared for who we are. That’s not something I wanted to have to tell them.”

Despite a seemingly heartfelt Facebook apology, the FBI is reportedly still investigating whether the incident constituted a “hate crime.”

Sputnik News has more on the legal implications behind the crime:

Under Arizona law, these are both Class 6 felonies, the least serious classification. Most Class 6 felonies are punished with one to two years in prison. It is possible for the court to decide to try the defendants as if they committed a misdemeanor instead, but as they have been charged with an aggravated crime — meaning the damage done was lesser than the intent of the crime — that is unlikely to occur.

Arizona law sharply increases sentencing time for past offenders. Class 6 felonies can be punished with up to 6 years in prison if the convicted has two or more prior convictions. It is likely that the three juveniles will be tried as adults.

The suspects were detained, processed, and then released pending the submission of charges to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. CPD spokesman Kevin Quinn has announced that the investigation is still ongoing.