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US Regulators Investigating Tesla Over Use of 'Autopilot' Mode Linked To Fatal Crash (cnbc.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday it is opening a preliminary investigation into 25,000 Tesla Motors Model S cars after a fatal crash involving a vehicle using the "Autopilot" mode. The agency said the crash came in a 2015 Model S operating with automated driving systems engaged, and "calls for an examination of the design and performance of any driving aids in use at the time of the crash." It is the first step before the agency could seek to order a recall if it believed the vehicles were unsafe. Tesla said Thursday the death was "the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated," while a fatality happens once every 60 million miles worldwide. The electric automaker said it "informed NHTSA about the incident immediately after it occurred." The May crash occurred when a tractor trailer drove across a divided highway, where a Tesla in autopilot mode was driving. The Model S passed under the tractor trailer, and the bottom of the trailer hit the Tesla vehicle's windshield. Tesla quietly settled a lawsuit with a Model X owner who claims his car's doors would open and close unpredictably, smashing into his wife and other cars, and that the Model X's Auto-Pilot feature poses a danger in the rain.
If my car is in autopilot, and I take control of the vehicle just before dying in an accident, is it considered an autopilot fatality?
This death happened in the area of the car Tesla spoke of the test machine breaking during a crush test of a roof, apparently withstanding the weight of 4 cars on its roof. A Trailer moving sideways crushing the car, you would think if the roof was super strong the car would be pushed sideways, instead of going under.
This would not have occurred I suspect.
Sounds to me like whatever beam they use to look for things in the way passed under the trailer - they'd need a wider range to ensure long hanging objects are detected.
If that's the problem, I'd call that negligence in design.
It sounds like the truck crossed the lane without enough time for the oncoming cars to make it but all we hear is how the autopilot is at fault. I can understand how the the sensors missed the trailer and that is going to be something all developers will have to add to their tests (when seeing a rig with a space after it then check for tires).
We are going to see cases like this come up now and again with self driving cars but there won't be a need for a recall. What should happen is an alert go out to the owners of cars while the manufacturers check their systems. If their cars pass tests then they can send out messages to their customers. If not then they create an update, test it, verify it, and send it out. Until owners of the cars hear that the system has been verified then they need to be extra vigilant when such an event happens.
That seems more dangerous than having the driver do all or most of the work
It may seem that way, but nevertheless there is overwhelming evidence that Autopilot improves safety. You should look at actual data rather than relying on gut feelings about what "seems" to be true.
1 in a 100 million will still result in hundreds of deaths a year considering how often a car is used..
How is that worse than the one in a million caused by human drivers?
YouTube is full of videos of people driving along minding their own business when somebody else falls asleep at the wheel and drifts into their lane.
Just because tech isn't perfect, doesn't mean it isn't better then the existing system.
No sig today...