Tesla Autopilot Involved in Another Fatal Crash
Self-driving technology has become the center of attention in the past few weeks.
Following Uber’s accident that involved the death of a pedestrian, a Tesla Model X with Autopilot activated was involved in a fatal crash. Tesla has shared details on the accident after the American automaker was able to recover the logs from the computer inside the vehicle. According to Tesla, the collision occurred at 9:27 AM on Friday, March 23, and Autopilot was engaged with the adaptive cruise control follow-distance set to minimum.
The company says the driver received several visual and one audible hands-on warning earlier in the drive, and the driver’s hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds prior to impact. The data also showed the driver had about five seconds and 150 meters of unobstructed view of the concrete divider with the crushed crash attenuator, but the vehicle logs showed no action was taken.
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The crash itself resulted in the Model X catching on fire and burning, and Tesla says it has never seen this level of damage to a Model X in any other crash. It notes that the crash was so severe because the crash attenuator had been crushed in a prior accident and hadn’t been replaced.
This latest accident will likely raise more questions and concerns surrounding autonomous technology, and whether it is ready and safe to be used on public roadways. Tesla reiterated that driving a Tesla equipped with Autopilot means you are 3.7 times less likely to be involved in a fatal accident.
“No one knows about the accidents that didn’t happen, only the ones that did. The consequences of the public not using Autopilot, because of an inaccurate belief that it is less safe, would be extremely severe. There are about 1.25 million automotive deaths worldwide,” said Tesla in a blog post. “If the current safety level of a Tesla vehicle were to be applied, it would mean about 900,000 lives saved per year. We expect the safety level of autonomous cars to be 10 times safer than non-autonomous cars.”
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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OMG i hope this is an April Fools joke, this is not good news for toastla,
Some day, a super rich owner who can afford to hire the "dream team" lawyers will get involved in these autopilot issues. Only then the manufacturers will know that this is some real sh*t.