Following last week’s fatal crash in which an autonomous Uber vehicle collided with a pedestrian, Arizona governor Douglas Ducey has suspended Uber’s permission to test autonomous vehicles in the state.

The incident occurred on 18th March at night and, while initial reports suggested the pedestrian had stepped off of the the sidewalk, video footage released later in the week revealed otherwise.

The video footage from inside the vehicle shows operator Rafaela Vasquez looking down before the vehicle collided with and killed Elaine Herzberg.

“I found the video to be disturbing and alarming,” said Ducey in a statement, “and it raises many questions about the ability of Uber to continue testing in Arizona.”

The state of Arizona was said to have had an “open-arms policy” to the testing of autonomous vehicles by The New York Times. Indeed Arizona’s lax regulations make it a desirable area for firms like Waymo and Uber which have both been testing vehicles in the state.

“Improving public safety has always been the emphasis of Arizona’s approach to autonomous vehicle testing and my expectation is that public safety is also the top priority for all who operate this technology in the state of Arizona,” said the governor.

As a result of Uber’s failure to comply with the Dusey’s expectation the governor has ordered the state’s Department of Transportation to suspend Uber’s ability to test and operate autonomous vehicles on Arizona’s public roads. The governor said the move was in the best interests of the citizens of the state.

The incident is currently being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It’s unclear for how long this suspension will last but Uber is going to have to find another way to test its autonomous vehicle tech.

[Via – The Verge]