Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is now in charge of Uber's Safety Council as the high-tech company strives to make its transportation network safer.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke to NBC's Savannah Guthrie on the "Today" show Thursday morning about how the company has evolved in recent years.
"2018 for us is 'standing for safety.' We have a 9-1-1 button [on the Uber app] so that you can get connected the instant that you want to," Khosrowshahi said.
"We've also announced that Jeh Johnson, who is a former secretary of Homeland Security, a pre-eminent safety expert, is going to be running, chairing our safety council, which will help us get better and better and better in this regard."
A self-driving Uber struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona last month, which occurred in the middle of the night with a driver behind the wheel. It's unclear why the driver did not react and take over the car's controls before the collision.
Khosrowshahi said the company has suspended its fleet of self-driving cars as it continues to probe what went wrong.
Johnson led the Department of Homeland security from 2013-2017 under former President Barack Obama.
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