Self-driving Uber SUVs Caught Running Red Lights in San Francisco

One of Uber’s controversial self-driving cars in San Francisco was caught on camera running a red light hours after the vehicles were launched.

Uber put its fleet of self-driving Volvo SUVs on the streets of San Francisco Wednesday morning, and mere hours later a Luxor Cab’s dashboard camera recorded one of the vehicles blowing through a red light in front of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The ride-sharing company launched the vehicles without the required permits from the state, arguing their SUVs don’t meet the state’s definition of “autonomous vehicles” because drivers are in the cars at all times and can take control when necessary.

The company said the red light incident in the video, which was posted to YouTube by Charles Rotter, was the fault of the person behind the wheel, not the self-driving mechanism. Uber said the driver has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.

Twitter user Annie Gaus detailed a separate incident Wednesday involving a self-driving Uber that ran a red light and nearly slammed into her Lyft.

Gaus tweeted a picture of the vehicle stopped partway into an intersection.

State regulators ordered Uber to stop using the self-driving cars Wednesday afternoon until the company obtains a permit from the state.