On May 7, a man from Williston, Florida, lost his life in a car crash when a large truck made a left turn in front of his Tesla model S car which was running on autopilot. Federal investigators are currently investigating the case.
Tesla, which unveiled the accident Thursday, said that a federal agency is now probing whether its cars’ autopilot feature is safe for the public roads. The car crash could now spark a lot of soul searching within the driverless car industry, some analysts suggest.
Though it is the first time a person dies while a car is in autopilot mode, there had been other reports of incidents related to the technology.
Tesla said that the Williston driver’s car ended up under the big rig whose bottom smashed the car’s windshield. The company said that the autopilot and driver were deceived by the bright lit sky which made it impossible for them to detect the white trailer truck moving in the car’s direction.
As a result the car failed to brake in time. Tesla, which reported the collision to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that very day, said that the autopilot mode was still in beta testing.
The firm noted that the feature is far from perfect and gets constantly improved. Furthermore, the feature is not turned on by default. A driver needs “explicit acknowledgement” before activating the system that he is aware that the mode is in a beta phase.
Additionally, the system prompts the driver to keep his or her hands on the wheel while autopilot is on. The driver is also prompted to stay alert and get ready to take control of the vehicle at any time.
Industry analysts believe that the recent fatal crash won’t make customers lose faith in Tesla but in the infallibility of the autopilot feature. Karl Brauer of the Kelley Blue Book believes that the tragic incident is an opportunity to educate customers before driverless cars become mainstream.
NHTSA announced that it would probe the “design and performance” of the autopilot in Tesla Model S cars while also investigating the fatal crash and the vehicle.
Other analysts think that the car crash won’t ruin the momentum of automated driving technology unless the agency finds that driverless driving is more dangerous than conventional driving.
Image Source: Wikimedia
Michael Turner
