Virginia authorities have determined that a Tesla was operating on its Autopilot system and was speeding in the moments leading to a crash with a crossing tractor-trailer last July that killed the Tesla driver. The death of Pablo Teodoro III, 57, is the third since 2016 in which a Tesla that was using Autopilot ran underneath a crossing tractor-trailer, raising questions about the partially automated system's safety and where it should be allowed to operate. The crash south of Washington remains under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sent investigators to Virginia last summer and began a broader probe of Autopilot more than two years ago.

Virginia sheriff’s office says Tesla was running on Autopilot moments before tractor-trailer crash::Virginia authorities have determined that a Tesla was operating on its Autopilot system and was speeding in the moments leading to a crash with a crossing tractor-trailer last July that killed the Tesla driver. The death of Pablo Teodoro III, 57, is the third since 2016 in which a Tesla that was using Autopilot ran underneath a crossing tractor-trailer, raising questions about the partially automated system’s safety and where it should be allowed to operate. The crash south of Washington remains under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sent investigators to Virginia last summer and began a broader probe of Autopilot more than two years ago.

  • treefrog@lemm.eeEnglish
    865·
    1 year ago

    The reason it wasn’t the moment of the crash is because it’s programmed to disengage if a crash can’t be avoided so that Tesla can skirt liability.

    This would be like a drunk driver letting go of the wheel the moment before a crash and telling the judge, ‘your honor. I wasn’t driving when the car wrecked.’

    I hope Tesla gets held accountable.

    • JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      91·
      1 year ago

      It turns off so that it doesn’t do anything stupid after the cash as the sensors or systems might be damaged, it still gets counted as a crash where autopilot was active.

      https://www.tesla.com/VehicleSafetyReport

      We also receive a crash alert anytime a crash is reported to us from the fleet, which may include data about whether Autopilot was active at the time of impact. To ensure our statistics are conservative, we count any crash in which Autopilot was deactivated within 5 seconds before impact, and we count all crashes in which the incident alert indicated an airbag or other active restraint deployed. <…> In practice, this correlates to nearly any crash at about 12 mph (20 kph) or above, depending on the crash forces generated. We do not differentiate based on the type of crash or fault

      And if the time between the crash and autopilot disengaging is over 5 seconds, I think “your honor. I wasn’t driving when the car wrecked, it was the autopilot” doesn’t work either, especially as you are still always responsible for what the car does, autopilot or not.

      Don’t get me wrong though, Musk is still an idiot and Tesla lies about the capability of the system in many ways which is partly the reason people think they can stop paying attention and let it do things on its own.

    • Kbobabob@lemmy.worldEnglish
      47·
      1 year ago

      I hope Tesla gets held accountable.

      Why would this not be the driver’s fault? There are no completely autonomous diving cars(i know there technically are but they are very limited) so the driver is responsible for paying attention. Why didn’t the driver brake or take any kind of evasive maneuver?

      The Tesla was traveling 70 mph (112.7 kilometers per hour) on four-lane U.S. 29 near Opal, and was 25 mph over the 45 mph speed limit in that area,

      I guess autopilot made the choice to speed too?

      • czech@low.faux.moeEnglish
        81·
        1 year ago

        Because Musk overstates what Teslas are capable of. It’s why Tesla is being sued by shareholders (Lamontagne v Tesla).

        Anecdotally, five years ago, my Uber was driving a Tesla and insisted it was fully autonomous on the highway and he could text without issue.