Tesla accident fatalities: Who is to blame and what to do next?

July 1 at Geektimes was published the news that the car Tesla Model S to engage the autopilot system was in a fatal accident. So far, this is the first and only case of death of the car driver who is under the control of a computer system.

Formally, a manufacturer of electric or not guilty. Autopilot feature is disabled by default in the electric Tesla. The company previously stated the following: "Security - the main priority of Tesla, we design and construct cars primarily on the basis of this. We also ask our clients to train in safe driving by using our machines ... Autopilot Tesla - the most advanced of the existing systems, but it does not make a machine in the unmanned vehicle and does not relieve the driver's responsibility. " All true, but there are a couple of controversial moments.

later date to inform about the accident
regulator The accident happened on May 7 and the National Administration of the US Highway Traffic Safety found out about it on May 16 after 9 days. The public is told about a car accident and that later - June 30, almost 2 months after the incident itself. Why regulators or the company itself is not informed about this before?

Tesla Motors has given this question a detailed answer: «Tesla, as well as any other automaker, does not find it necessary to share information about all crashes involving electric Tesla. Every year, accidents kill more than a million people, but the automakers do not share information about each incident with investors .... »



Electric Tesla Model S after the accident

sale of shares May 7 Tesla Motors
May 18 there was another interesting event: Tesla and Elon Musk sold shares at $ 2 billion, for $ 215 per share. At this time, the company's management already knew about the accident, an investigation was conducted. If the incident became known to the sale of shares, the proceeds would have been less. The question arises - whether linked to the sale of shares and the delay in the report on the fatal crash

? As soon as it became aware of the incident, the company's share price has fallen from $ 212 to $ 206. However, losses were quickly priced in by the market: the evening of the value of shares increased to $ 216. Elon Musk, head of Tesla Motors has responded to accusations of delaying the awareness of regulators and the public informed about the accident in his Twitter account. He said that all this is "not essential" for the company's investors.

There are a few questions to which there are no answers
I watched the film if the victim driver? B> Several people said that heard the sounds of the electric vehicle of the film "Harry Potter." If the driver has watched the movie, the responsibility for what happened lies with him. If the driver did not watch the film (as evidenced by one of the participants of the accident investigation), and followed the road, and it summed up the autopilot, the responsibility lies with the Tesla. Whatever was said in the company's beta testing the autopilot and driver liable for its use, but Google has no plans to use his vehicle until its complete readiness management system. The same is said and representatives of the Volvo. It turns out that Tesla to attract buyers gave the crude product on the market?

How Tesla plans to avoid accidents in the future? B> According to some experts, the "high ground clearance, coupled with the position of the semi-trailer on the road and the extremely rare circumstances led to the fact that the Model S was held under the trailer, and the lower part of the trailer collided with the windshield Model S».
< br> If on-site trailer was something different, with a smaller gap, the autopilot would probably have reacted.

Soon the company will launch an updated version of the autopilot, which promise to make even more secure than the previous version.



Some features of the new version of the autopilot is already known: the camera added and updated software. "The system with dual cameras able to recognize and react to stop signs and traffic lights without the driver", - said a source familiar with the functional updated version. Now the system only responds to physical obstacles faced by car. If the updated version is able to respond to the signs and traffic lights, then it is much closer to the autonomous driving.

Updated system components such as Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer. Tesla driver with a new autopilot and get an updated interface. In particular, the objects surrounding the vehicle are displayed on the first face - as they "see" the electric sensors. Now the picture is displayed in the third person. This may interfere with the perception of the driver of obstacles.



Improved speech recognition, new voice commands have been added. There is no need to press and hold the button to enable voice command system will always listen to the driver. After recognition of the command will be displayed on the screen. It is planned to improve and interact with large objects on the road - trucks and trailers.

Now the new autopilot in beta testing, and until the release may take a few weeks or a few months.



By the way, those of the Tesla electric vehicle owners, who made the order before 14 September 2014 will not receive the update. Most likely, Tesla Model 3 will ship with the updated software version.

And he thinks Musk?
Earlier the head of Tesla Motors Fortune wrote the journalist as follows: "... worldwide each year about one million people die in car accidents About half of that million could be saved if the autopilot Tesla would be available to all.". Earlier, Musk has stated that in his opinion the autopilot reduces the chance of getting the car in an accident by about 50%.

UPD. B> It became known today about another accident of electric Tesla. This time the trouble occurred with the owner of the Tesla Model X, which before the accident activated the autopilot mode. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and serious injuries are not.

The accident happened July 1 in Pennsylvania, USA. Model X c autopilot engaged drove into the guard, crossed several lanes of the road and crashed into a concrete divider.

Electric car rolled onto the roof and stopped. The accident suffered another car 2013 Infiniti G37, crashed into the housing broken away parts Model X. According to those familiar with the section of the road where the accident occurred, the ride is very simple here. And the markup and all guards are installed where needed. Driver error is virtually eliminated. Why astray autopilot Tesla - is unclear, it is yet to be explored

. Source: geektimes.ru/post/278154/