Fatal autopilot crash, NHTSA investigating...

[tinm]

I think you're missing the point. It's a known limitation. Of course it's extremely common, so are kids running out into the road but both are not handled by the current system. Unlike a divided highway, freeways generally do not experience lateral traffic nor children in the road so these are non-issues for the current autopilot as advertised.

I have spoken to numerous Tesla owners who tell me they use autopilot either all the time or often -- on roads that are not freeways. I've been on some of the roads they're talking about, like one between Taos and Santa Fe in NM. Not a freeway. Lots of cross traffic.

I don't think Tesla owners esp non-techie, retired, recent buyers are sufficiently heeding the warnings about where these driver assistance features should not be used.

 

[Vitold]

Again, Tesla releases a blog post to pretend like they're ahead of the curve and such an open company.

Just like the seatbelt recall, it's all done for PR.

If they were really as genuine as they say they are, this blog would have been posted a month ago. Not when the NTHSA is doing an investigation, and the info would get out in either case.

Do you expect Tesla to comment on every accident? Where do you draw a line?

 

[JeffK]

I don't think Tesla owners esp non-techie, retired, recent buyers are sufficiently heeding the warnings about where these driver assistance features should not be used.

Very true. I'm in agreement with some of the posts here that maybe there should be a mandatory video on the screen during initial autopilot acceptance which goes through the limitations of the current system. They can reshow the video everytime a over the air update changes the capabilities. Possibly put the video on Youtube and their website as well.

 

[Max*]

Do you expect Tesla to comment on every accident? Where do you draw a line?

That's a strawman argument, and we both know it.

But I'll bite, this is somewhat of a major accident, no? The first fatality with AP-enabled.

They didn't rush to post a blog post when it happened, they only posted it when the NHTSA investigation started. So while, good on them for posting it, I don't buy the sincerity of it.

 

[JeffK]

They didn't rush to post a blog post when it happened, they only posted it when the NHTSA investigation started. So while, good on them for posting it, I don't buy the sincerity of it.

Well it's probably in bad taste to post immediately before the relatives are notified, police reports are complete, and NHTSA has been made fully aware of all the details including the completed police report.

 

[Nikxice]

To paraphrase what an engineer stated earlier, Autopilot doesn't have to be perfect, just really good. Good enough to use out in a world that kills almost 100 people each day in the US alone. With further enhancements and more data, Autopilot will be proven to be a lifesaving tool. For most situations, the machine will eventually win out over human factors.

I can understand the speculation over distracted or inattentive driving. It is responsible for a high percentage of crashes.This could be different. Bright sunny day, long straight road, perhaps one or both of drivers were looking, but just didn't see the other vehicle. How? One of those human factor gremlins known as inattentional or perceptual blindness. At one time or another we've all experienced it. Our eyes see something, but it doesn't quite register. This shows up frequently in auto crashes. Scanning, searching, and always staying curious are good methods to defeat this phenomenon. Some might have previously seen this short demonstration on YouTube. If you choose to watch, follow the brief instructions.

 

[Canuck]

They didn't rush to post a blog post when it happened, they only posted it when the NHTSA investigation started. So while, good on them for posting it, I don't buy the sincerity it.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, and in fact I agree with much of your position, but when you use words like "sincerity" in reference to a corporation, you lose me. Words like honest, sincere, truthful, etc. don't apply to any corporation, as far as I am concerned. All corporations exist solely to create profit for the shareholders, and to do so within the law (hopefully). That's where sincerity and truthfulness end for them, with compliance with the law and no more.

However, I find Elon Musk to be sincere. Flawed, of course, like all humans (and much less than most), but overall he certainly seems like a very sincere person to me.

 

[brkaus]

Did the truck even stop before making the left across traffic?

 

[Max*]

I don't necessarily disagree with you, and in fact I agree with much of your position, but when you use words like "sincerity" in reference to a corporation, you lose me. Words like honest, sincere, truthful, etc. don't apply to any corporation, as far as I am concerned. All corporations exist solely to create profit for the shareholders, and to do so within the law (hopefully). That's where sincerity and truthfulness end for them, with compliance with the law and no more.

However, I find Elon Musk to be sincere. Flawed, of course, like all humans (and much less than most), but overall he certainly seems like a very sincere person to me.

You're right, I could have used a better word.

I got my point across of what I meant.

 

[JeffK]

Did the truck even stop before making the left across traffic?

We don't know.

 

[josephpisani]

Hi,

I'm a reporter at the Associated Press and we're looking to talk to Tesla owners about autopilot after the crash. If you have a couple of minutes for phone interview. My email is jpisani at ap.org

Thanks

Joseph

 

[Max*]

but there is a reason why McDonald's coffee cups have "caution: hot liquids" written all over them and autopilot is NOT for everyone.

Sigh... do you know the reason why? Do you know the severity of her burns? Do you know that McDonalds was asked several times before that to reduce their coffee temperature? Do you know that she needed to get her skin grafted?

Do you know anything about the case, or are you just assuming that someone was litigious and won millions of dollars (also not true) because she got a slight burn?

 

[JeffK]

Hi,

I'm a reporter at the Associated Press and we're looking to talk to Tesla owners about autopilot after the crash.

You know you can actually post questions here (AFTER reading all previous posts on this thread) and you'll probably get all the answers you could ask for.

 

[Max*]

witnessed a Tesla driver in the next lane reading his Kindle!

I thought ElectricFan stopped?

 

[JonathanD]

You know you can actually post questions here (AFTER reading all previous posts on this thread) and you'll probably get all the answers you could ask for.

Doubt he's looking for answers as much as opinions.

 

[Caligula]

Unlike a divided highway, freeways generally do not experience lateral traffic nor children in the road so these are non-issues for the current autopilot as advertised.

I see you don't live in a boarder state.

 

[voyager]

 

[JeffK]

I see you don't live in a boarder state.

haha I used to. I don't know if a future autopilot will specifically have Mexican detectors that work at freeway speeds. You may have to still be vigilant.

 

[kort677]

Well it's probably in bad taste to post immediately before the relatives are notified, police reports are complete, and NHTSA has been made fully aware of all the details including the completed police report.

umm, it appears that about 45 days passed between the collision and the blog posting by tesla. something must have happened to make them go public. I am fairly certain that notifications were made a long time ago.
there is a lot of available info and data that has not been offered by tesla or the investigating authorities that IMHO renders most of what is being posted here as pure speculation.

 

[SUNNY]

If they had Furious S8 - A 8 cam dash cam (shown below), they could have figured out what went wrong (the culprit).