BOSTON (WHDH) — City officials lifted the suspension on self-driving cars in Boston on Tuesday, a week after a pedestrian was hit and killed by a driverless car in Arizona.
The startup company “Nutonomy” said it is testing the vehicles on Boston public roads again after the city asked it to stop for a time. Mayor Marty Walsh said the city’s transportation department met with Nutonomy and another company, Optimus Ride, to review their safety protocols. He said he believes they are safe to test in the Seaport.
“It was a tragedy that happened last week but with that tragedy I don’t see this industry stopping. I think they’re going to move forward and try to make sure they have safer vehicles and safer situations.”
Self-driving cars were stopped in Boston after a self-driving car in Tempe, Arizona hit and killed a pedestrian crossing the street. Since then, the governor of Arizona told Uber it can no longer test self-driving cars in the state. Uber also pulled all of its autonomous vehicles off the roads nationwide following last week’s crash.
In Boston, self-driving cars must have a driver in the front seat at all times. Walsh said the vehicles are being tested on the South Boston Waterfront instead of in a densely-populated neighborhood. For now, the state has delayed a plan to expand testing to surrounding towns.
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