Tesla is pushing to make self-driving cars a reality, but the reality is the bugs aren’t all worked out yet. Unfortunately, this means that owners are unwitting test pilots. Reuters reported on a Tesla crash that happened in California yesterday.
There was an overturned truck near Fontana blocking two lanes of traffic on the highway around 2:40 am. Five minutes after that incident, a Tesla crashed into the scene, harming the truck driver and a motorist that had stopped to help at the scene. Both sustained major injuries.
The Tesla driver was killed in the incident. It is unknown at this moment if the autopilot in the Tesla was engaged at the time of the crash, but black box recordings should make that clear soon.
Federal investigators are looking over at least 24 different accidents involving Tesla vehicles operating on Autopilot. Tesla states that their system can react to road dangers faster than a human and increases road safety. This system partially automates steering, braking, and speed.
However, crashes keep happening. It’s a new and tricky area of law because it’s hard to determine if the autopilot system was at fault or the driver.
Our condolences go out to the family of the deceased driver. We hope that all the injured people recover completely.
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