As you may have heard, this past Sunday Uber’s autonomous car program had a catastrophic failure in the form of one fatal accident. An Uber fleet vehicle with an operator inside struck a pedestrian who was attempting to cross the street at night in Tempe, Arizona. While not the first of its kind in the industry, the death of Elaine Herzberg sparked a nationwide debate over the safety of self-driving cars.

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There are dozens of companies currently competing for the top spot in the field of autonomous vehicles. Many of these have taken to the roads already and have had very few issues. The problem seems to arise when a company decides to take unnecessary risks to appease executives or potential shareholders.

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The CEO of Google’s self-driving car company, Waymo, stated that they are extremely confident that if their vehicles were put in the same situation, this tragedy would not have occurred. This confidence comes from the rigorous testing required of all autonomous vehicles to become street legal. For Uber’s fleet of Volvos, the same car that killed Elaine Herzberg, it outfitted with radar and Lidar sensors.

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The investigation into the wreck is ongoing but it is unclear why the radar failed to pick up the metal bicycle the woman Herzberg was carrying. Even more surprising, the high tech Lidar system that is meant to create 360 degree visuals around the car, detecting obstructions even at night, failed to do just that. The makers say that they are “baffled” but that doesn’t answer the question of what failed at such a critical moment. This type of technology cannot be tested on the public without already being safe and that is where the problem lies with these companies.

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These flourishing tech fields are only doing so well because it is a race for exorbitant amounts of money derived from having a trusted fleet of vehicles to shape the future of transportation in the United States, and from there, the world. That isn’t to say that all of these accidents are caused by shady business practices, but the capabilities of a two ton, computer operated vehicle is a legitimate concern.

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Imagine the technology you use every day. Does it ever lag, glitch, or shut down altogether? For you, that’s an inconvenience found in even the most advanced pieces of technology. Now imagine those same issues, but in a potential battering ram that is dropped in to one of the most dangerous environments imaginable; the United States’ road system. According to the government, there are approximately 3,200 deaths per day on our road system. If that number seems high, that’s because it is.

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Driving is one of the most dangerous activities that we can partake in and these types of incidents are bringing that danger to the forefront of American thought. Technological advancement is always a positive event, but how that is implemented determines the overall outcome, whether it be positive or negative.