Uh oh, another Tesla autopilot crash fatality

[Xist]

A coworker once said deer were scared of little black boxes on bumpers.

Dad said he used to see semis taken out by elk.

[MetroMPG]

LOUD PIPES SAVE DEER!

--

On topic:

Following the crash, the truck’s driver, Frank Baressi, claimed the victim was watching a movie at the time of the crash, saying he could hear the film Harry Potter playing from the Tesla’s wreckage.

Tesla vehicles can’t play videos on their infotainment screens, but Reuters now reports that the Florida Highway Patrol found a portable, aftermarket DVD player in the wreckage of Brown’s vehicle.

Tesla Faces Backlash Over Autopilot Technology in Wake of Crash

[jamesqf]

One of the things I don't get here is that (according to the reports I've see) the Tesla was travelling well above the speed limit. Doesn't having its 'autopilot' system allow this (illegal by definition, and arguably unsafe) behavior automatically make Tesla at fault?

It does seem that this is yet another instance of Musk's particular version of hubris (for want of a better word): a condition where after making one brilliant move, you feel compelled to go and do a couple of really stupid things to compensate. As for instance building (fairly) practical electric cars was a good move; wasting your company's limited capital and laying yourself open to massive lawsuits by trying to develop self-driving tech (and competing with companies that have lots more money, too)... well, not so smart :-)

[MetroMPG]

Only "report" I heard about speeding was from the truck driver who turned in front of the car, so that's suspect. Have you read otherwise?

Good question though. The car undoubtedly knows the speed limit, unlike "dumb", old cruise controls.

[Xist]

...and unintelligent drivers.

[seifrob]

The real long-term trouble for any carmaker is that in papers you read "autopilot fault".Not "over-confident driver fault". Back in days of socialism we had signs saying "NESPOUŠTĚJ OČI Z TRATI!" (always watch the road). I suppose tesla is saying that anytime you activate its autopilot mode.

[MetroMPG]

^ "If you're reading this road sign, you're not paying attention to the road."

[rmay635703]

I fail to understand why this is even a story, if I were driving my 1980's suburban and crash into a blantly large easy to see object while accellerating, would it garner the same response?

On this note I believe all of the newer than 2006 safety features should be banned and cars should disable all electronic devices while driving.

Anything that allows people to be less mindfull on the road doesn't belong in a car and that includes auto pilot.

In my mind the guy deserved to die, he was doing things that should never be done on the road and was being a danger to everyone out there that day.
survival of the fittest I guess,

luckily his stupidity did not kill anyone else as is more commonly the case when people are being dumbarses staring at screens.

To be honest I don't view what he did much differently than getting hammered and driving, no difference.

Hopefully this incident is instead a wakeup call to attack the true cause of most accidents as opposed to trying to cover for morons.

I suppose I am the only one who believes in personal responsibility and that doesn't include a machine.

[sendler]

The rumor has it that the Tesla driver was watching a movie on a portable player.
.
I also wonder about the amount of time that the driver would have had to react even if he was paying attention. It seems like the truck turned across right in front of him. Which comes down to driver intuition which a computer will never have. As a motorcyclist I have learned to predict the behavior of other motorist actions before they make them based on subtle "body language" cues of their vehicle.

[MetroMPG]

Considering it's a transport truck (bigger, slower) and he went under the trailer presumably behind the trailer's 'kickstand' (longer), he should have had much more time to react than had it been a car.