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Old 07-27-2016, 06:47 AM   #1
thstone
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Los Angeles
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Tesla Autopilot Crash - Couldn't Discern White Semi-Truck from Sky

Preliminary info is filtering out from the investigation into the death of a driver while using the Autopilot function in his Tesla Model S.

tesla-model-s-autopilot-crash/44585/

From the story;

The accident occurred on May 7th, when a tractor-trailer pulled across US Highway 27A in Florida. According to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board, performance data from the Model S says it was traveling at 74 mph (119 km/h) at the point of impact, 9 mph (14 km/h) above the 65 mph (105 km/h) posted limit.

In a release put out by Tesla, the company said the combination of a bright sky and white trailer might have made the truck difficult to see, potentially contributing to the accident.

After slamming into the side of the truck, the car rolled around 300 ft (91 m) before hitting a telephone pole. Having broken the pole, it then carried on another 50 ft (15 m) before coming to rest in someone's front yard.

In a statement released in June, Tesla was at pains to mention the fact Autopilot is still a public beta.


WTF? The software couldn't tell a semi truck from the sky?

This will be a free for all for the defense lawyers.

And just wait until the NTSB comes down on Tesla for allowing the car to drive autonomously over the speed limit. Its easy to imagine that legislation will come fairly soon requiring auto driving cars to obey the speed limit.
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