This is the latest Autopilot crash; but it wasn’t the system’s fault. A couple, who was too busy engrossed in something else other than focusing on the road, rear-ended a Nissan SUV despite the system warning and chiming its brains out. How can one trust a machine blindly?
Heart Of The Matter
Tesla has been stressing that the system requires human intervention and driver’s attention at all times, but still some people trust it blindly. Autopilot even warned the driver of an object right ahead, but he did not react. His wife noticed this at the very last moment, but it was way too late to actually do something about it. This resulted in the Model S ramming into the rear of a stationary Nissan SUV at around 45 miles per hour.
The dashcam footage was uploaded to YouTube with the following statement - “We weren’t paying attention all. We were too focused on the chaos around us and didn’t even hear our car warning us of the obstacle ahead. As you can see, we rammed right into the parked car going about 45 mph. I haven’t heard words like that come from my wife’s mouth in the 20 some-odd years we’ve been married!”
Final Thoughts
They are lucky to have gotten out alive and unharmed. How can people be so stupid to not even watch the road when the car has taken over? Until cars have achieved Level 5 Autonomy, there will always be a need for a human behind the wheel to make all the important decisions. Yes, there are semi-autonomous systems out there; but to help you, not do the work for you. It’s better to treat them as safety assistance because that’s what they really are. Share your thoughts on this incident in the comments section below.
Further Reading
Read our full review on the 2017 Tesla Model S.
Read more Tesla news.
Read more technology news.
Read more autonomous cars news.