Tesla driver killed in crash with Autopilot active, NHTSA investigating
theverge.com
theverge.com
I absolutely disagree with this, and it should not be used as a 'get out' clause from Tesla. If you work with non-technical people on technical issues on a day to day basis you'll understand why - non-technical people literally don't understand what stuff like this means. They'll read it, then say 'Oh but they installed it in my car anyway so it must be safe', and use it anyway.
https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tragic-loss
The full context of the agreement:
"It is important to note that Tesla disables Autopilot by default and requires explicit acknowledgement that the system is new technology and still in a public beta phase before it can be enabled. When drivers activate Autopilot, the acknowledgment box explains, among other things, that Autopilot “is an assist feature that requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times," and that "you need to maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle” while using it. Additionally, every time that Autopilot is engaged, the car reminds the driver to “Always keep your hands on the wheel. Be prepared to take over at any time.” The system also makes frequent checks to ensure that the driver's hands remain on the wheel and provides visual and audible alerts if hands-on is not detected. It then gradually slows down the car until hands-on is detected again."
So the key here is that Tesla autopilot is a driver assist but is positioned such that the driver needs to remain alert and able to assume control of the vehicle at any moment. So when it is said, "Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed..." it is critical to note that ultimately the driver failed to control their vehicle. Personally, I find this reasonable.
I don't care much about the user agreement, but this should mean that the driver had their hands on the wheel when this happened. Does we know if it requires both hands on the wheel, or can you placate the car with one hand while you read reddit with the other?
So your question is sound, and I don't know the answer...but saying "A distracted driver ran into a truck trailer" is less catchy.
Would it make any difference if the switch came with a big angry red sticker saying "DON'T PULL THIS SWITCH UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING"?
It's a setting that can get you killed. There's no other reason to have it other than to risk getting killed (presumably because some people enjoy this kind of thing). Warning or no warning makes no difference at all. There's no justification for having a thing like that on anyone's car.
Autopilot features are in a grey area now since they are very new but Tesla is still responsible regardless of what they claim to be.
Seatbelts and Airbags were also in "beta phase" at some point, and more likely than not some people got killed by a deploying airbag in it's early days or by a seatbelt with a shoddy release function before everything was standardized but you could still sue for compensation in those incidents as well.
"Autopilot" is a system that takes control of the car away from the driver. As such there's no comparison to safety features and in fact it's rather the opposite: it's a system that makes driving a lot more dangerous than it normally is.
(Unless the system is much better at driving than the human driver, which it most definitely is not).
> What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.
Failing to detect the white side of a tractor against a brightly lit sky is something I can see camera/image based sensors struggling with, but not LIDAR based sensors.
What if a deer crosses the road? Will the car hit the deer to save the life of the driver? Avoid the deer to avoid an accident? Or save the deer and run into the ditch, possibly harming the driver?
Unfortunately, this technology is not capable of making those decisions and if ultimately the driver is responsible, then maybe we should just keep it that way then.
This is not even a slight morality issue. The person is more important than the deer.
"Unfortunately, this technology is not capable of making those decisions"
Of course it is. Program the machine so that its primary concern is protection of human life. Which should be its secondary concern (protection of property or protection of deer) is a more interesting question. But running into the ditch to save the deer while threatening harm to the driver is simply not an option.
So, speculatively, it is a double failure:
1) Trailer was high enough to avoid radar
2) Trailer was light enough/low contrast to avoid detection by the camera
I hope Tesla learns something from this, from the outside looking in - they appear to have a cavalier, can-do attitude (nothing wrong with the latter) towards safety engineering. Release beta self-driving software to production vehicles? Yeah, why not?
I also wonder if that would encourage more risky behaviour from users or less.
Actually, it appears to be nowhere near the level of a Tesla.
http://mashable.com/2016/06/16/2017-mercedes-benz-e-class-fi...
> Turns out, the 2017 E-Class is just playing coy when it comes to self-driving capabilities. It is the first production car to receive an autonomous driving license in Nevada.
So the technical system (hardware+software) is as good as or better than a Model S, but Mercedes believe it is irresponsible to call that Autopilot and pretend like the car is fully autonomous, so they've put in restrictions like requiring some tiny driver input once every 60 seconds so it knows you're paying attention.
That said, it's my understanding that DISTRONIC still disengages if you take your hands off the wheel for more than a short amount of time, same as the 2014 model, and I haven't seen Mercedes make any announcement that the 2017 model will be so good that they're gonna assume liability for accidents.
All bark, no bite. It's great that there's competition in the autonomous tech, but I'm very skeptical of either Mercedes or Volvo standing behind that promise any time soon now.
It's a vaporware promise.
>...Additionally, every time that Autopilot is engaged, the car reminds the driver to “Always keep your hands on the wheel. Be prepared to take over at any time.” The system also makes frequent checks to ensure that the driver's hands remain on the wheel and provides visual and audible alerts if hands-on is not detected. It then gradually slows down the car until hands-on is detected again.
THEN, this seems a design that both envisions and forces a driver to keep their hands on the wheel and stay focused. This does not seem to be a design that directs, encourages, or allows a driver to engage the system then take a nap.
At some point in the future, with fully autonomous driving, yes, there must be some legal framework wherein the car manufacturer is responsible. This piece of technology does not seem to fall within that framework.
I've had doubts about autopilot after it was hastily released and I've seen some unnerving anecdotes on Tesla groups about it. I think Tesla needs to keep Elon in check a bit more...
There's lots of highways in the US that are just 2 lanes, one in each direction, with a speed limit of 55mph and cross traffic from smaller roads that should stop first before turning on the highway in either direction. These are what we usually mean with the word 'highway'.
If not, comparing auto pilot deaths with average deaths per mile is disingenuous.
I'm happy to let you all beta test this one for me.
> [...] a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S.
I take that as the truck was crossing the street (from a side street) in front of the car, but because of the sun blinding the sensors and the driver, the car didn't stop.
Relevant section: In a separate crash on May 7 at 3:40 p.m. on U.S. 27 near the BP Station west of Williston, a 45-year-old Ohio man was killed when he drove under the trailer of an 18-wheel semi. The top of Joshua Brown’s 2015 Tesla Model S vehicle was torn off by the force of the collision. The truck driver, Frank Baressi, 62, Tampa was not injured in the crash. The FHP said the tractor-trailer was traveling west on US 27A in the left turn lane toward 140th Court. Brown’s car was headed east in the outside lane of U.S. 27A. When the truck made a left turn onto NE 140th Court in front of the car, the car’s roof struck the underside of the trailer as it passed under the trailer. The car continued to travel east on U.S. 27A until it left the roadway on the south shoulder and struck a fence. The car smashed through two fences and struck a power pole. The car rotated counter-clockwise while sliding to its final resting place about 100 feet south of the highway. Brown died at the scene. Charges are pending.
Here is a google maps view of the accident location: https://goo.gl/maps/SSKyoxhoaxp