Taking auto-pilot literally?

[TheBac]

Guess he went into the backseat to get a cup of coffee?

http://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...tied-fatal-crash-nhtsa-investigates/86570046/

Tesla Motors acknowledged today that a driver of one of its Model S cars operating in Autopilot mode died when the semi-autonomous system failed to detect a tractor-trailer turning in front of the luxury electric car.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun a preliminary investigation of the fatal accident that occurred May 7 in Williston, Fla.
The case illustrates the experimental nature of autonomous vehicle technology that has attracted billions of dollars of investment from the auto and technology industries.

• Related: How safe is safe enough for self-driving cars? It's a moving target

"This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated," states a post on Tesla's corporate website. "Among all vehicles in the U.S., there is a fatality every 94 million miles. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles. It is important to emphasize that the NHTSA action is simply a preliminary evaluation to determine whether the system worked according to expectations."
The post continues in substantial detail to describe the incident.

• Related: U-M professors know wonders, risks of self-driving cars

"Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S."
In a statement, NHTSA said the beginning of a preliminary investigation "should not be construed as a finding that" the agency "believes there is either a presence or absence of a defect in the subject vehicles."
Tesla's Autopilot enables the vehicle to drive itself under most highway circumstances, but there are situations where drivers must be prepared to reclaim control. It is not clear whether the driver was alerted in this particular case.
General Motors is working on a system called Super Cruise that it previously said would be introduced next year to give the Cadillac CT6 "hands-free" driving, but the driver must remain engaged.
Earlier this month there was an incident in Irvine, Calif., where the owner of a brand new Tesla Model X, also equipped with Autopilot, accelerated from a parking space and crashed into a commercial building. The owner and Tesla disputed whether Autopilot specifically caused the unintended acceleration.
The message on Tesla's website reflects legal advice about the limits of Autopilot's capability.
"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."
Some say the accident shows Tesla's novel self-driving feature isn't ready for prime time.
"Tesla might want to consider a voluntary recall or stop sale on its vehicles equipped with the Autopilot feature," says Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at AutoTrader, in a statement. "Self-driving vehicles hold much promise for improving road safety, but more work is needed with the technology, regulations and consumer confidence, which could be shaken by accidents like this.”

 

[PureHybrid]

Natural selection?

Goes back to the same idiots that couldn't stop a Prius from accelerating.

 

[Awenta]

He didn't see the truck. Probably would have died anyway.

That said, if I'm the driver... I'm Driving

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[TheBac]

Ok, I know I was kidding, but the guy was watching a movie when he hit the truck. They think the autodrive system couldnt distinguish the light colored truck on a bright sunny day. I guess its not the first time something like that has happened, either....just no wreck b/c of it.

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2016/07/01/tesla-driver-harry-potter-crash/86596856/

I find this fascinating, considering what I do for a living. I cant see taking distracted driving to a whole new level being a good thing.

 

[c20elephant]

Now comes the big question with driverless cars, who is responsible for the accident.?

The owner of said vehicle, how, he was not in control of the vehicle.?

The manufacturer, no, the company will just blame the person/persons that coded the algorithm to control the car.

Google, the map/GPS satellite was wrong.

The person/persons that coded the "algorithm" will blame mechanical failure.

It becomes a big blame game...

Moral issue, was the "algorithm" coded to preserve the life of the passenger of the vehicle or the other person or persons.?

Brings up too many "unknowns" for a driverless car, who is to blame for the accident or who does not live.?

Until the "moral" issue is addressed I doubt a driverless car will be on the roadway anytime soon as the norm, a joystick without a steering wheel will be first instead of a driverless car..........

 

[Awenta]

That what's I wondered. If there's three people crossing the street and one person in the driverless car what does it do? Put the car into a tree and kill the driver or take out the three in the street? Slam the brakes and hope for the best?

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[NC-smokinlmm]

That what's I wondered. If there's three people crossing the street and one person in the driverless car what does it do? Put the car into a tree and kill the driver or take out the three in the street? Slam the brakes and hope for the best?

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The people arent viewed as living beings, just obstacles. It would try and avoid them but not leave the road. Its going to be blamed on equipment failure, I'd bet anything on it...

 

[Dozerboy]

^^^Could you expect any better from a person?


That fact is even with these limitations autopilot is still better then the average driver...


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[Chevy1925]

just like planes, i can see these "autopilot" vehicles needing a black box and dash cam in them at min very soon. that will take alot of "unsure what the cause was" out of the equation.

 

[DMAXchris]

I can foresee a metric shit-ton of law suits. I don't like the idea of driverless cars one bit. We're getting way too close to Skynet with this autonomous tech. Pretty soon cars will be sentient. No thanks.

 

[Dozerboy]

I agree, but living in a big city it would put me at ease to have these people with there phones up there ass to not be in control of a vehicle. I'm not perfect by any means but normally I keep it between the lines.

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[WVRigrat05]

You'd appreciate an auto car after a couple trips with me, my ADHD makes my mind leave half of my drive times.

 

[WVRigrat05]

In all seriousness though, just the thought of a car doing the driving makes me want bigger bumpers, obviously it can't detect a semi, what's it gonna do in snowy conditions?

 

[duratothemax]

So, really, how many humans have a perfect driving record of 130 million miles with no accidents?

How many humans have even 1/10 of that mileage under their belt without an accident.

Do you guys have any idea how much the fatal accident rate has dropped over the past 5-10 years? You think its because drivers are getting better? LOL good one. No, its because things like stability control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring are becoming more and more widespread/standard equipment in cars.

And I dont really buy the whole "safety nannies are turning people into worse drivers" either. Maybe slightly, but come on....if smartphones/GPS/infotainment systems were around in 1970, people would have been just as "bad" (inattentive/complacent) at driving back then too. Except back then, they wouldnt have a safety nanny to save their ass...

You think the average idiot teenage girl posting on instagram while driving is actually consciously thinking "im only posting a duck face selfie right now because I know I have forward collision alert to tell me if Im going to rear end someone...if my car didnt have forward collision warning and lane departure warning, I wouldnt be using my phone while im driving"...of course not. 9/10 chance she doesnt even know her car has said gadgets.

For the "back when I was growing up, we all actually knew how to drive!!!!" people...you guys all drank and drove 100x more back then, and never wore your seatbelts either...if you do the math of cars on the road versus miles traveled versus fatal accidents, and scaled it proportionately over the past 50 years (because obviously people are driving much more now and there are tons more cars on the road)...despite humans being "dumber" today, accident rate would most likely still work out to be lower today.

Which brings up another much wider point, Id also be willing to bet people werent THAT much smarter 40 years ago either. You just werent aware of it because Youtube and mainstream media didnt exist to showcase all of the stupid things people did back then. Does the Dukes of hazzard ring any bells?

So moral of the story and to sum up my opinion, give me a break. And give Tesla a break. The idiot behind the wheel is completely at fault here. He should have had an eye on the road, even when on autopilot. The Tesla system is a driver AID. It is not advertised in any way as a driver REPLACEMENT. And its a pretty incredible piece of technology to have the track record it does (130m miles, no fatalities or accidents).

Anyone care to do the math at how many people died in the last 130 million miles traveled as a result of human error?

Ben

 

[duratothemax]

just the thought of a car doing the driving makes me want bigger bumpers,

Oh, what, and the high school girl playing candy crush on her phone while driving DOESNT make you want bigger bumpers?

Come on man. Ever ridden on an airplane before?

A highway full of Teslas on autopilot, or a highway full of ditzy idiots with 2 years of driving experience under their belts....I know which highway Id rather drive on every day.

 

[Mike L.]

So, really, how many humans have a perfect driving record of 130 million miles with no accidents?

How many humans have even 1/10 of that mileage under their belt without an accident.

Do you guys have any idea how much the fatal accident rate has dropped over the past 5-10 years? You think its because drivers are getting better? LOL good one. No, its because things like stability control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring are becoming more and more widespread/standard equipment in cars.

And I dont really buy the whole "safety nannies are turning people into worse drivers" either. Maybe slightly, but come on....if smartphones/GPS/infotainment systems were around in 1970, people would have been just as "bad" (inattentive/complacent) at driving back then too. Except back then, they wouldnt have a safety nanny to save their ass...

You think the average idiot teenage girl posting on instagram while driving is actually consciously thinking "im only posting a duck face selfie right now because I know I have forward collision alert to tell me if Im going to rear end someone...if my car didnt have forward collision warning and lane departure warning, I wouldnt be using my phone while im driving"...of course not. 9/10 chance she doesnt even know her car has said gadgets.

For the "back when I was growing up, we all actually knew how to drive!!!!" people...you guys all drank and drove 100x more back then, and never wore your seatbelts either...if you do the math of cars on the road versus miles traveled versus fatal accidents, and scaled it proportionately over the past 50 years (because obviously people are driving much more now and there are tons more cars on the road)...despite humans being "dumber" today, accident rate would most likely still work out to be lower today.

Which brings up another much wider point, Id also be willing to bet people werent THAT much smarter 40 years ago either. You just werent aware of it because Youtube and mainstream media didnt exist to showcase all of the stupid things people did back then. Does the Dukes of hazzard ring any bells?

So moral of the story and to sum up my opinion, give me a break. And give Tesla a break. The idiot behind the wheel is completely at fault here. He should have had an eye on the road, even when on autopilot. The Tesla system is a driver AID. It is not advertised in any way as a driver REPLACEMENT. And its a pretty incredible piece of technology to have the track record it does (130m miles, no fatalities or accidents).

Anyone care to do the math at how many people died in the last 130 million miles traveled as a result of human error?

Ben

Ben
Sometimes you are a real stick in the mud.:roflmao:

 

[duratothemax]

Ben
Sometimes you are a real stick in the mud.:roflmao:

:rofl:

I just like to ruffle feathers, you know that Mike.

.


(posted while driving my truck that doesnt have collision warning, blind spot warning, or lane departure warning)

 

[WVRigrat05]

Yes, I've flew several times, flight is smooth until the some of the pilots run the controls.

Never really thought of it like that.

Most duck face selfie taking girls drive Prius' and the like, ever hit one? It's like hitting a rotten mail box post.
I'd imagine hitting a tesla would def bring whatever you're driving to a halt, or damn close.

 

[CaptPhil]

I think the 130 million mile figure is disingenuous. the vast majority of the autopilot driving is taking place on major highways, and for relatively short periods of time. people are still driving the rest of the time. let's find out how many fatal accidents take place per 130 million miles strictly on major highways with human control, then compare that to autopilot.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just pointing out that the figures can't exactly be compared.

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[duratothemax]

Yes, I've flew several times, flight is smooth until the some of the pilots run the controls. .

How do you know when "some of the pilots are run the controls" and when its on autopilot??? :rofl:

(I have my pilots license and its still hard for me to tell when im flying as a passenger on a commercial airliner)

Some commercial pilots hand-fly the entire flight, FYI. Obviously its boring, but some do just for practice. As long as the airplane is trimmed up, you really dont need to do anything with the stick and rudder unless you're turning or climbing/descending.