DVD Player Found In Tesla Autopilot Crash, Says Florida Officials (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A digital video disc player was found in the Tesla car that was on autopilot when its driver was killed in a collision with a truck in May, Florida Highway Patrol officials said on Friday. "There was a portable DVD player in the vehicle," said Sergeant Kim Montes of the FHP in a telephone interview. She said there was no camera found, mounted on the dash or of any kind, in the wreckage. A lawyer for a truck driver involved in the accident with the Tesla told Reuters his investigators had spoken to a witness who said the DVD player was playing a "Harry Potter" video after the accident, but the lawyer was unable to verify that beyond the witness account. Lawyers for the family of the victim, 40-year-old Joshua Brown, released a statement Friday saying the family is cooperating with the investigations "and hopes that information learned from this tragedy will trigger further innovation which enhances the safety of everyone on the roadways." Lawyers for the family of the victim, 40-year-old Joshua Brown, released a statement Friday saying the family is cooperating with the investigations "and hopes that information learned from this tragedy will trigger further innovation which enhances the safety of everyone on the roadways." Tesla said in a statement Friday, "Autopilot is by far the most advanced driver assistance system on the road, but it does not turn a Tesla into an autonomous vehicle and does not allow the driver to abdicate responsibility."

Comments

So what does it do then?

[C0R1D4N]

What exactly is the point of it? To lull you into a false sense of comfort and security? I look forward to autonomous vehicles, but if it still requires me to keep my attention on the road and ready to respond, I'd rather just be in control of the vehicle to begin with.

Re:So what does it do then?

[Ramze]

The Tesla does not drive for you in autopilot mode. You still have to tell it when you want to change lanes (which this person supposedly did just before the crash.) Whomever was driving was alert and attentive enough to decide to change lanes literally a moment before the crash, so they must have assessed the surrounding vehicles and determined it was safe to do so.

As for your assumptions about driving, I have no idea where you're getting your data from as all Google cars have drivers that are paid to be attentive and all Teslas explain the features are to assist in driving, not autonomous driving... and they slow down and alert you if you don't keep your hands on the wheel.

I've regularly driven 5 to 7 hours at a time visiting family and friends every few weekends, and I almost always use my cruise control on the interstate. I have no idea why a Tesla which has enhanced cruise control and little else other than a collision warning system would make a human being so much more bored and inattentive they'd drive straight into a truck after changing lanes. That's just nonsense. I keep the A/C on high and play music or podcasts to entertain me, but I never zone out, change lanes, and run into the back of trucks. Not sure who on earth would.

The Tesla's enhancements don't ask the driver to "do nothing" any more than my cruise control does. They still have to physically tell the car to change lanes, watch the road for crazy drivers, note when and where to turn off the main road (even driving interstates, one can go through many off-ramps, yet still be on the same interstate), etc. It's not like a getting into a cab and telling the driver where you want to go.

I've seen people doing their own make-up, reading newspapers, and even watching TV in their vehicles while driving on the interstate. Eyes completely off the road in front of them, vehicle on cruise control (I presume). Those are morons... and my money is on this guy watching Harry Potter instead of being a responsible driver. Don't blame the vehicle for human laziness. There's no excuse for it.

human nature doesn't mesh well with this.

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem is that if it slightly resembles a full-on AI based driverless system, that's how people are going to treat it no matter how many layweresque warnings you thrust in front of them and no matter how many forms they have to sign telling them it is just fancy lane assist.

It's just human nature: if people aren't actively involved in the driving process, their attention is going to wander. It's how we as humans are wired up. For a long trip, I'm not sure I could stay focused at all times, even though I'd know perfectly well I was risking my life if my attention wandered. If I'm driving, that's one thing, but if the car is doing 99.9% of it, the other 0.1% is going to pose a real serious problem.

If you build "almost an autopilot", that is a recipe for people treating it like what it resembles but isn't.

Re:By far...

[Xenx]

but that does not change the fact that they released a fundamentally flawed and extremely dangerous product.

At this stage, that is your opinion and not a fact. Don't purport it as such.

Re:Driver assistance system or autopilot system ?

[jedidiah]

Most people understand "autopilot" to be something that keeps an airplane flying in a straight line. In that regard, the term isn't misleading.

Even a modern autopilot won't help you in an unexpected situation. You still need a real pilot to handle interesting things.

Re: By far...

[Mr D from 63]

Unfortunately the Tesla system did not even provide any warnings, you really can't have a similar warning system as planes because you will typically have a lot of cars in the vicinity. So comparing car to plane autopilot is very applish-orangish. Plane autopilot is actually a lot simpler to accomplish.

Allowing the user to have hands off for 30 seconds is problematic for Telsa. A lot can happen in 30 seconds, its an arbitrary duration. Why not 5 seconds?

imho, it should not be called auto-pilot or autonomous driving because its not truly that yet. Assisted control is more appropriate.