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Uber To Give Up Testing Of Self-Driving Cars In California

(CBSNews.com) -- Uber will not renew its permit to test self-driving vehicles on California public roads when it expires Saturday. The ride-hailing service has halted tests of autonomous vehicles in a number of locations after a fatal crash in Tempe, Arizona, earlier this month.

"We proactively suspended our self-driving operations, including in California, immediately following the Tempe incident," an Uber spokesperson said in a statement. "Given this, we decided to not reapply for a California permit with the understanding that our self-driving vehicles would not operate in the state in the immediate future."

In a letter to Uber on Tuesday, California's Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed that the company will lose testing privileges after Saturday. If Uber wants to return, it will need a new permit and has to address investigations into the Tempe crash, the DMV said.

On March 18, an Uber autonomous SUV struck and killed a pedestrian near Phoenix. Arizona's governor suspended Uber's self-driving privileges Monday.

Uber decided last week to suspend tests on public roads in California, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Ontario.

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