In a preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was revealed that the driver killed in the recent Autopilot crash of a Tesla Model S, was speeding. The NTSB said in its initial findings that the car was travelling 119 km/h in a 105 km/h zone during the time of the accident.
During the May 7 incident, Joshua Brown was killed when his Tesla, with Autopilot engaged, drove under a tractor trailer, colliding with the windshield of the electric vehicle. According to a police report, the vehicle’s roof “was torn off by the force of the collision.”
The authorities has already confirmed that the Model S’ Autopilot system was active during the incident, which features Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and AutoSteer lane-keeping assistance. “Speeding alone would not be considered the cause of a vehicle crash, but could be a contributing factor,” said NTSB spokesman Christopher O’Neil in a report by Automotive News.
Ever since the fatality, Tesla is currently facing a separate investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to determine if the system worked according to expectations, and if it poses an unreasonable risk to driver safety.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently came out to clarify the carmaker’s use of the term “beta” in reference to his company’s Autopilot system. In several Twitter posts, Musk explained that the system comes with an explicit warning to ensure that drivers are ready to take over controls if needed. He added that the system would need to record at least one billion miles of real-world driving before it can leave the “beta” phase.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Sigh the victim trades his convenience of the Autopilot feature with his life.
Is Autopilot really that important that is worth risking your life? And other people’s life as well?
I have no issue with Tesla here, they make great cars. I’m only curious about the importance of the Autopilot feature which a number of automakers are trying to pursue. Is it really that important? Do we really need that?
But isnt that the case with technology as a whole? We could still be living in a cave comfortably walking across vast lands to get from point A to point B. But we no longer have to because we invented locomotion. Can we survive without it? Sure we can, but we made it to better our lives and that’s what makes us humans, our ability to learn, innovate and evolve to be better. It’s just within us to create. Technology is always a question of “why not?”. So why not research on autonomy, it only makes us more efficient and productive. I’m pretty sure alot wondered if flying and stepping into a tin can car back then was worth their lives or not. Sadly, people will die in the name of technology, but their death won’t be in vain if we learn from it. I know it’s sad, but it’s the natural course for humanity.
Already the autopilot seems to save lives. It’s more likely to end up in a deadly crash when driving yourself than when letting the autopilot do the job.
The autopilot takes some work off the driver, but it should not be given the task of driving by itself. I have something similar (though it isn’t called autopilot…), perhaps even better than the system Tesla uses in certain areas, and while I use it a lot, I won’t watch a movie, sleep, or do anything else. I drive and at most listen to a podcast. The car takes work off my shoulders, and lets me drive longer without getting exhausted. And should I be too tired to drive, it lets me reach the next place where I can rest.
It is wonderful. Not sure though how these systems deal with the relatively chaotic Malaysian traffic.
Autopilot was speeding. Ini semua salah drebar.
Jangan persoal logic foreign overlords, kata Albert.
? The driver told the autopilot how fast to drive.
haha, amereka overlords..
It’s like that movie Wall-E. Humans will eventually ‘outsource’ every form of effort to machines..even walking
wah, now tesla claim caused by speeding, later claim caused by tyres dah botak, wheels misalignment,bra bra bra…no excuses la tesla, don’t u think u need to design something with fool proof before launching something which will kill ppl ar? what is the safety factor? anyway, no u-turn for your autopilot now ( malu ma ), let wait and see how many life will be killed later
In the US, every 94 million miles driven there is a fatal accident. It took the autopilot 130 million miles before there was the first fatal accident. Obviously there haven’t been enough miles and fatal accidents to come to a conclusion, but it isn’t too bad.
The technology was misused. When the autopilot failed to notice the lorry, the driver should have intervened.
Halo. It is not Tesla that claimed the driver was speeding. It is the NTSB. The same body that investigates plane crashes and other transportation crashes. Get your facts right. The implications are significant
Yo Bro,pls read properly (In a preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was revealed that the driver killed in the recent Autopilot crash of a Tesla Model S, was speeding).It was the NTSB that claimed he was speeding not Tesla!!
inb4 NTSB plotekted Tesla cuz j… oh wai, memang betui pun.
luckily this is american car, if it is european car vw, sure kena sue kao kao like the diesel scandal
The headline is misleading. Yeah driver speeding at 119km/h in a 105km/h zone.
But that’s hardly going too fast.
Sounds like trying to avoid responsibility for a failed system.
It’s not like going at excessive speed of 180km/h using auto pilot in 100km/h zone.
Smell some blaming.
Will the Tesla driver have survived or the system prevented an accident if he is travelling at 105km/h?