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Tesla's Semiautonomous System Contributed to Fatal Crash

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday September 13 2017, @07:51PM   
from the tragic-events dept.

mrpg writes:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/teslas-semi-autonomous-system-contributed-deadly-crash-feds/story?id=49795839

Federal investigators announced Tuesday that the design of Tesla's semiautonomous driving system allowed the driver of a Tesla Model S in a fatal 2016 crash with a semi-truck to rely too heavily on the car's automation.

"Tesla allowed the driver to use the system outside of the environment for which it was designed," said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt. "The system gave far too much leeway to the driver to divert his attention."

The board's report declares the primary probable cause of the collision as the truck driver's failure to yield, as well as the Tesla driver's overreliance on his car's automation — or Autopilot, as Tesla calls the system. Tesla's system design was declared a contributing factor.

[...] A Tesla spokesperson provided a statement to ABC News that read, "We appreciate the NTSB's analysis of last year's tragic accident, and we will evaluate their recommendations as we continue to evolve our technology. We will also continue to be extremely clear with current and potential customers that Autopilot is not a fully self-driving technology and drivers need to remain attentive at all times."

According to The Associated Press, members of Brown's family said on Monday that they do not blame the car or the Autopilot system for his death.

A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report on the crash can be found here. The NTSB has yet not published its full report; a synopsis of it can be found here.

Also at The Verge and CNN

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Original Submission

• Re:blame game Re:blame game (Score: 5, Informative) by frojack on Wednesday September 13 2017, @09:06PM (1 child)

  by frojack (1554) on Wednesday September 13 2017, @09:06PM (#567468) Journal

  And apparently headlines are only semi believable as well.

  The board's report declares the primary probable cause of the collision as the truck driver's failure to yield, as well as the Tesla driver's overreliance on his car's automation.

  Two humans fucked up.

  Tesla gets the blame in the headlines.

  Driver ignored or silenced the warnings, 7 times according to some reports.

  Driver monitoring. Tesla monitors driver engagement through the interactions with the steering
  wheel, turn signal, and TACC speed setting stalk. If the system does not detect the driver’s hands on the
  steering wheel (assessed using microtorque measurements) or other signs of driver engagement for
  periods of time that vary depending on road class, vehicle speed, road curvature, and traffic conditions, an
  escalating series of warnings is presented. The warnings start with a visual alert indicating that hands on
  the steering wheel are required. If the driver does not respond to the visual warning, an audible chime is
  sounded after 15 seconds. A more pronounced chime is initiated if the driver does not respond after
  another 10 seconds. If the driver fails to respond to the third alert stage within five seconds, the system
  gradually slows the vehicle while maintaining position in the lane.

  Per NHTSA Report.

  --
  No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+4
  Informative=4, Total=4
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		5

• Re:blame game (Score: 2) by choose another one on Thursday September 14 2017, @07:58AM

  by choose another one (515) on Thursday September 14 2017, @07:58AM (#567684)

  Two humans fucked up.
  Tesla^H^H^H^H vehicle manufacturer gets the blame in the headlines.
  Driver ignored or silenced the warnings, 7 times according to some reports.

  Pretty sure the aviation industry has been here many times before...

  Parent