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Title    First Reported Fatal Accident of Tesla Model S Operating in Autopilot Mode
Date    Friday July 01 2016, @01:49AM
Author    martyb
Topic   
from the Pay-attention! dept.
https://soylentnews.org/breakingnews/article.pl?sid=16/07/01/0131209

Two Soylentils wrote in with news of a fatal accident involving a Tesla vehicle. Please note that the feature in use, called "Autopilot" is not the same as an autonomous vehicle. It provides lane-keeping, cruise control, and safe-distance monitoring, but the driver is expected to be alert and in control at all times. -Ed.

Man Killed in Crash of 'Self-Driving' Car

butthurt writes:

Tech Insider reports that an Ohio man was killed on 7 May when his Tesla Model S, with its autopilot feature turned on, went under a tractor-trailer.

Further information:

Tesla Autopilot - Fatal Accident

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/30/us-regulators-investigating-tesla-over-use-of-automated-system-linked-to-fatal-crash.html

Accident is reported to have happened in May, and reported to NHTSA/DOT immediately by Tesla. But not public until the end of June -- something a bit fishy about this reporting lag.

On the other hand, the accident is described as one that might have also been difficult for an alert human to have avoided:

The May crash occurred when a tractor trailer drove across a divided highway, where a Tesla in autopilot mode was driving. The Model S passed under the tractor trailer, and the bottom of the trailer hit the Tesla vehicle's windshield.

"Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied," Tesla wrote.

This was the first reporting found--by the time it makes the SN front page there may be more details. Because this is a "first" it seems likely that a detailed investigation and accident reconstruction will be performed.


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

Links

  1. "butthurt" - https://soylentnews.org/~butthurt/
  2. " Tech Insider " - http://www.techinsider.io/report-joshua-brown-died-in-first-tesla-autopilot-crash-2016-6
  3. "Tesla Motors blog" - https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tragic-loss
  4. "NHTSA report" - http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM530776/INOA-PE16007-7080.PDF
  5. "video uploaded by the victim, demonstrating use of the autopilot feature" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TjbqVartjM
  6. "Original Submission #1" - https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=14516
  7. "Original Submission #2" - https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=14515

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