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Tesla Avoids Recall After Autopilot Crash Death (bbc.com)

Tesla will not be ordered to recall its semi-autonomous cars in the US, following a fatal crash in May 2016. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its investigation after it found no evidence of a defect in the vehicle. From a report: Joshua Brown was killed when his car collided with a lorry while operating in Autopilot mode. Tesla has stated Autopilot is only designed to assist drivers, who must keep their hands on the wheel. The feature is intended to be used on the motorway, where is lets cars automatically change lanes and react to traffic. The NHTSA report said data from the car showed that "the driver took no braking, steering or other actions to avoid the collision". Bryan Thomas from the NHSTA said the driver should have been able to see the lorry for seven seconds, which "should have been enough time to take some action".

3 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. also, Tesla’s crash rate was reduced by 40% by DiniZuli · · Score: 5, Informative

    The same investigation found that Tesla’s crash rate was reduced by 40% after introduction of Autopilot:
    https://electrek.co/2017/01/19...

  2. Re:Since they determined autopilot wasn't to blame by Moheeheeko · · Score: 1, Informative

    Its not a British truck, its the British word for a "big rig" The reason they used that word is because the article is from the BBC

  3. Re:That depends, some can land the plane unassiste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Per Airbus training, throttle forward and stick back are the responses to most emergencies, powering out of the situation.
    The inexperienced third pilot (right seat) was trying to do that, while the second pilot (left seat) was pushing forward on the stick trying to get the nose down. Airbus's control scheme averages the control inputs instead of having a preferred input and without feedback, the pilots did not know they were opposing each other into the aircraft doing nothing. They realized it seconds before impact, but it was too late to get the nose down and trade altitude for airspeed.

    The problem was their attitude indicators were unreliable as some pitots were frozen. A simple piece of string hanging from the overhead console would have told them they were in an extreme nose-up attitude.