Tesla Driver Dies In First Fatal US Crash In A Self-Driving Car

[Bucky]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/tesla-driver-first-fatal-crash

Yes, it was the computer's fault. Sadly, it seems that the computer driving the car couldn't make out the light-colored tractor trailer he plowed into from the sky. The driver was 40 years old. The police don't think he was watching a movie on his smart phone when he died, but the truck driver he hit thinks he was.

Operating instructions on the self-driving car state that the person in the driver seat needs to keep hands on the steering wheel at all times, in order to take over. Which of course makes the whole self-driving thing rather pointless.

We should now begin a debate comparing driver-error fatalities to self-driving-car fatalities.

In the meantime, I'm starting to rethink my enthusiasm for trying those new self-opening parachutes.

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. There are always failures with new technologies.

That is why they make safety rules.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. as the article pointed out, seems to be driver error.

First of all, the accident happened May 7th...in Fla. which has a LOT of 18 wheeler traffic.

Brown's driving record, obtained by The Associated Press, showed he had eight speeding tickets in a six-year span. Seven came in Ohio and one in Virginia. The most recent ticket, in northeastern Ohio in August 2011, was for driving 64 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone.

Terri Lyn Reed, a friend and insurance agent in northeastern Ohio who insured Brown's business, said he was always up for an adventure and loved motorcycles and fast cars.

Brown "had the need for speed," Reed said. She described him as "kind of a daredevil" who was fearless.
By the time firefighters arrived, the wreckage of the Tesla — with its roof sheared off completely — had come to rest in a nearby yard hundreds of feet from the crash site,

[Agnosticsherbet]

13. Then it appears that the title is somewhat in error. If the drivers was in control of the vehicle.

[yeoman6987]

2. Driverless car 1 death - cars with drivers millions of deaths

[Duckhunter935]

5. So true

[laundry_queen]

8. Dumbest comparison ever

How many of each are on the road at any given time?? How long have driverless cars even been available?

Hint: there is no comparison currently

[Travis_0004]

3. Its important to note, the tesla is not a self driving car

It has a lot of features to help drivers, it can auto steer to stay in a lane, it can brake to avoid a crash, but it is not designed to be self driving.

Tesla knows, this, the NHTSA knows this. As such, the system is not perfect, and it requires a human in the drivers seat paying attention.

The Tesla has an automation level of 2

Combined Function Automation (Level 2): This level involves automation of at least two primary control functions designed to work in unison to relieve the driver of control of those functions. An example of combined functions enabling a Level 2 system is adaptive cruise control in combination with lane centering.


Its as if the wright brothers crashed their first airplane, and we all said, lets give up on this flying thing.

Self driving cars will get there, but they are not here today (which is why the tesla is not a self driving car). The technology might never be perfect, but it will quickly be better than humans.

[backscatter712]

4. The instructions and the warnings on the Tesla's screens...

...say very specifically that the autopilot is not omniscient, and that the driver needs to be alert and ready to take control of the car at all times.

Actually, come to think of it, this may be a human-factors problem. Yes, the instructions say that the driver needs to be alert and ready to take over, but at the same time, the autopilot is good enough to be able to handle the driving 99% of the time. Which is enough to lull the driver into complacency and watching Harry Potter movies so he's not paying attention when that 1% situation comes up...

[Ready4Change]

6. Warning regarding that link.

I clicked that link and got xfered to a window telling me to upgrade my Firefox browser using a link on the new page. The new page was in no way hosted by Mozzilla, the makers of Firefox.

Perhaps this was due to something else on my computer. Or maybe the link in the original post is corrupted.

Be careful out there.

[Bucky]

9. uh oh

Talking Points Memo is a very prestigious, pure journalism website. Never had a lick of trouble with them. They are VERY trustworthy. I would advice doing a virus scan on your computer.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. I just opened the link with no unusual problem.

Using Chromium browser.

[redstateblues]

7. The bleeding edge of technology

[PuppyBismark]

12. My car has adaptive cruise control and I love it, but..

Adaptive cruise control is a radar-based system that detects cars in front of you and crossing in front. Many cars have it as an available option. It also has collision detect features. I use it a lot and it does a good job of matching my speed to the car in front of it. For example I took it on a 200 mile trip on dual lane highways and only had to use the break or accelerator pedal about ten times. Adaptive Cruise Control did the rest of the work. In local traffic, it will stop if the car in front of me stops, but if I am the first to a stop light, I need to stop it. I wonder what a Tesla would do when it comes to a red light.

That being said, I must always pay attention to what is happening and btw: I have to steer the car to match the road and the radar cannot look around corners. So, it is not a auto driving system, but a safety and convenience system.

As i understand the accident, the truck turned into the car and that is a most difficult situation for which to build an automatic driving system. The car has to be able to ignore a vehicle in the adjacent lane and only react when it moves into the car's lane.

I have seen indications the Tesla driver was speeding and that makes it even more difficult. Given what the warnings Tesla has based on other postings, Tesla should not be held responsible. Likewise, there is no good reason to completely trust such a new system.