Model X Crash on US-101 (Mountain View, CA)

[Az_Rael]

I think I know what actually happened since something related just recently happened to me.

As I was driving on the highway on a road with markings from construction on AP, I was looking down at my phone for some time. My attention was not on the road, but, the car was on autopilot. I thought the markings on the road was correct, so I didn't look at the road. Well, because I was distracted on the phone, the car nearly hit the side barrier from construction. I just took a brief look to my side and just happened to took control. If I had not, I would suffered a bad accident.

I now am suspiciously that the driver of MX Accident had been distracted. AP didn't know the road markings are worn and made it think it was a valid road.

'


Glad you weren't in an accident! Hopefully you have a much healthier respect for APs limitations now. I know that after I got hit by a distracted driver my husband and I vowed to never glance at our phones even with AP on. In the past I have done it before, but having someone looking at his cell phone almost hit me head on was a huge wake up call.

It only took the guy 2 seconds to hit me - I would say I am guilty of having glanced at my phone for 2 seconds in the past.

 

[kkboss]

Look at this

He owns a MX and he expects the AEB to work in that scenario. In fact, most drivers will expect that to work unless they are familiar with the limitations of the tech. There may be many such drivers driving a Tesla expecting it do something that it’s not capable of.

 

[kkboss]

I'm sure Tesla will update the documentation when it gets to the point that it needs to. Currently this is in the manual:

View attachment 295690

That little paragraph pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

This is like the coffee cup warning “contents may be hot” that nobody cares. While the website and their sales office have AP and FSD thrown at your face every step of the way. They even have optional FSD buy option. When I went for my test drive, all TVs played only AP videos. The test drive and the rep explaining the features was also mostly about AP. It makes you think this is what you have been waiting all your life and thank god Elon Musk and Tesla happened in our lifetimes.

 

[Doug_G]

Citation needed. The numbers I've seen show drunk driving still causes 3x as many deaths as all distracted driving combined (with texting being only a small part of that).

Distracted driving deaths outpacing impaired driving deaths

 

[Doug_G]

Electroman your post absolutely was worthy of being snipped. It didn't just raise the possibility that it was a suicide, it unnecessarily painted the deceased in a negative light. You basically accused him of creating a situation where his family could benefit from a lawsuit.

You could have brought forward the possibility of suicide in a more respectful manner that would not have resulted in the thread derailing into arguments.

I am now moving your new post, because it repeats the same material.

 

[JRP3]

Seems an odd way to attempt suicide. In an extremely safe vehicle, and at a specific point where you previously complained about autopilot behavior, with no guarantee at all that you're going to die, and in fact a high likelihood that you will survive.

 

[mkspeedr]

I think I know what actually happened since something related just recently happened to me.

As I was driving on the highway on a road with markings from construction on AP, I was looking down at my phone for some time. My attention was not on the road, but, the car was on autopilot. I thought the markings on the road was correct, so I didn't look at the road. Well, because I was distracted on the phone, the car nearly hit the side barrier from construction. I just took a brief look to my side and just happened to took control. If I had not, I would suffered a bad accident.

I now am suspiciously that the driver of MX Accident had been distracted. AP didn't know the road markings are worn and made it think it was a valid road.

I am sure this is what happened. Simple explanation.

 

[Blastphemy]

He owns a MX and he expects the AEB to work in that scenario. In fact, most drivers will expect that to work unless they are familiar with the limitations of the tech. There may be many such drivers driving a Tesla expecting it do something that it’s not capable of.

I do not believe for one minute that my Model X has emergency braking that works. I've tried the test in that video with other cars, and every single one of them STOPS before hitting the box/tarp/mattress. Infiniti's system felt the most assured and safe of the ones I tried. Cadillac was OK, but didn't feel entirely reliable. Ford was OK too. I have come close to hitting some things (i.e., traffic stops suddenly without my Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or AutoPilot on), and it feels like the Model X did nothing at all to prevent the accident. If I hadn't slammed on the brakes in those instances, I'm quite sure I would have hit the car/person/object in front of me.

 

[McRat]

... I'm going with the suicide theory. ...

I'm going with a tumor.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I do not believe for one minute that my Model X has emergency braking that works. I've tried the test in that video with other cars, and every single one of them STOPS before hitting the box/tarp/mattress. Infiniti's system felt the most assured and safe of the ones I tried. Cadillac was OK, but didn't feel entirely reliable. Ford was OK too. I have come close to hitting some things (i.e., traffic stops suddenly without my Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or AutoPilot on), and it feels like the Model X did nothing at all to prevent the accident. If I hadn't slammed on the brakes in those instances, I'm quite sure I would have hit the car/person/object in front of me.

I've experienced mine activate two different times. Please don't get snippy about my driving skills.

 

[Az_Rael]

I think it will be interesting once the various safety agencies start rating AEB system performance in addition to the other crash testing they do. Then we will be able to better compare systems across companies vs homemade cardboard box tests.

 

[daktari]

I think it will be interesting once the various safety agencies start rating AEB system performance in addition to the other crash testing they do.

Your wish will come true at 2 minutes and 4 seconds.

 

[Az_Rael]

Your wish will come true at 2 minutes and 4 seconds.

Nice, it will be interesting when they evaluate the Teslas system.

 

[Kant.Ing]

Same occasions here. Many times I was distracted or maybe my mind went blank and only realized afterwards that AP had passed those concrete barriers in construction zone. I also firmly believe in Parallel Universes which is a very nice feature.

Anyway, just increased AD&D and Life, and no regret.

I think I know what actually happened since something related just recently happened to me.

As I was driving on the highway on a road with markings from construction on AP, I was looking down at my phone for some time. My attention was not on the road, but, the car was on autopilot. I thought the markings on the road was correct, so I didn't look at the road. Well, because I was distracted on the phone, the car nearly hit the side barrier from construction. I just took a brief look to my side and just happened to took control. If I had not, I would suffered a bad accident.

I now am suspiciously that the driver of MX Accident had been distracted. AP didn't know the road markings are worn and made it think it was a valid road.

 

[Pentium2004]

I just had an experience yesterday with a Tesla loaner car that nearly caused a pileup. I was heading down I-4 in heavy traffic but all flowing at regular when the autopilot decided to spike the brakes. No cars in front were close since I had autopilot on 5 for distance and nobody hit the brakes. I went from 75 to 30 in just a second and the semi behind me had the brakes locked up. The first reaction I had was to stomp the accelerator to the floor. Good thing I did because the semi missed me by about a foot. I called SC to notify but they didn’t seem too concerned. There were no overpasses or anything weird going on with the road. I still find AP very dangerous.

 

[mongo]

On the media side, a local news site had the typical misstatement regarding hands not on wheel vs. hands not detected, along with the warning timings. I sent the writer an e-mail and they updated the article with a quote directly from Tesla's blog. So yay, we can affect the quality of news.

 

[Economite]

Same occasions here. Many times I was distracted or maybe my mind went blank and only realized afterwards that AP had passed those concrete barriers in construction zone. I also firmly believe in Parallel Universes which is a very nice feature.

Anyway, just increased AD&D and Life, and no regret.

I'm sure, if you get into an accident with another car, that the other driver will be very happy that you increased your insurance coverage rather than choosing to be an attentive driver.

Come on, folks. Cars are not toys. If you aren't attentive enough to drive safely without AP, you are not attentive enough to drive safely with AP. No matter how much pressure you apply to the steering wheel, AP is not an excuse to play around on phone or MCU web browser while driving.

 

[tomas]

Here’s something I remember from decades ago. I was shopping for a car. Salesman took me for test drive. He drove out, I drove back. I don’t even remember what car. He took hands off wheel and floored it on straight stretch. Car stayed in lane. Sales pitch was: look how balanced and well aligned. Try that in any other car. Well, I did not. I thought he was a salesman, and I discounted everything he said through my BS detector. I can’t understand anybody who gives AP full rein and turns their attention elsewhere. Regardless of what is on Tesla site or said by sales rep. All you have to do is drive past construction area once or on/off ramp to know the meaning of too far.

 

[Kant.Ing]

Hey, with Tesla's AP engaged, you can floor it and the car amazingly follows the curve!

I always keep my hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Many years of muscle memory also help.

 

[Economite]

And... Now... This:

Driver caught turning on autopilot and moving to passenger seat while travelling on M1