Submitted via IRC for Fnord666
The driver of a Tesla Model X has died following a highway crash in Mountain View, leaving a number of safety questions.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/24/tesla-model-x-driver-dies-in-mountain-view-crash/
In a post on its website, the electric-car maker said computer logs retrieved from the wrecked SUV show that Tesla's driver-assisting Autopilot technology was engaged and that the driver doesn't appear to have grabbed the steering wheel in the seconds before the crash.
The car's 38-year-old driver died after the vehicle hit a concrete lane divider on a Northern California freeway and caught fire. The accident happened March 23.
[...] In its Friday post, Tesla said the crashed Model X's computer logs show that the driver's hands weren't detected on the steering wheel for 6 seconds prior to the accident. It said they also show the driver had "about five seconds and 150 meters of unobstructed view of the concrete divider" before the crash but that "no action was taken."
The company cited various statistics in defending Autopilot in the post and said there's no doubt the technology makes vehicles safer than traditional cars.
"Over a year ago," the post said, "our first iteration of Autopilot was found by the US government to reduce crash rates by as much as 40 percent. Internal data confirms that recent updates to Autopilot have improved system reliability."
"Tesla Autopilot does not prevent all accidents -- such a standard would be impossible -- but it makes them much less likely to occur," the post reads. "It unequivocally makes the world safer for the vehicle occupants, pedestrians and cyclists."
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday April 02 2018, @03:15PM (5 children)
Well, alcohol also slows down your reactions. So it's not just that a person is drunk.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 02 2018, @05:06PM (4 children)
If you're driving at safe distances, and at the posted speed limit, etc., then you don't need very fast reaction times.
That's why old people can still drive, and why measurably dumb people are allowed to drive, etc.
Come on. Surely, you've had a few beers—which is considered very illegal if you then go driving. You KNOW it's not as dangerous as it's made out to be. You KNOW it.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Monday April 02 2018, @06:39PM
I don't know about you but I won't even consider driving if I have any external factors effecting my cognition, reaction time, or vision.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday April 02 2018, @06:44PM (2 children)
According to these [charlotteagenda.com] people who experimented, you can drink 2 or 3 craft beers and still be slightly under the limit (of course that's rather dangerous since breathalyzers are notoriously inaccurate). Which is like the equivalent of 6 Miller Lites?
I'm not making any claims about how dangerous it is. I'm just saying the tiredness isn't the only part of the equation.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 02 2018, @08:27PM (1 child)
If you're over the limit, then it's DUI by definition.
However, the State can choose to press DUI charges for any amount.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03 2018, @06:29AM
[citation needed]