What bothers me most about the Tesla crash news.

"mazda616" (mazda616)
07/03/2016 at 12:20 • Filed to: Tesla

Why did the car keep going after it hit the semi? It went through two fences and hit a power pole. Shouldn’t its collision avoidance systems have at least registered it hitting the fences if not going under the semi?

We’ll never know all the details, and I think the truck driver was definitely at fault and I still think the Model S is an amazing car (I’d have one of I was rich). This just confuses me.

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DISCUSSION (25)

Rainbow > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:26

Honestly though, a man-made mechanical system will always fail if there’s even a microscopic chance of failure. Murphy’s law. There may be room for improvement, but even if and when cars are fully autonomous, it’s almost always going to be the driver’s fault for letting a crash happen. If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. We need to be aware enough to get things back on track.

djmt1 > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:27

Why was the truck driver at fault? I haven’t really gone in depth on this but from what I have gathered, the Tesla driver should of just stopped and waited for the truck to finish turning.

Alfalfa > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:28

It must be that hit-and-run toggle switch for the autopilot. I hear they put that in to win over Mustang customers

Steve in Manhattan > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:28

Guy was said to have died watching a Harry Potter film. Could have been worse - a Hobbit movie.

mazda616 > djmt1
07/03/2016 at 12:29

From what I have seen, the truck turned in front of the Tesla. However, the Tesla driver (if he was paying attention) would have been able to brake. It happens to me some. Semis turn when they feel the other traffic can avoid them. If they wait for no traffic, they'll be there all day.

Takuro Spirit > djmt1
07/03/2016 at 12:30

It was an uncontrolled intersection on a 4 lane highway. The westbound semi turned left (south) across the front of the eastbound Tesla. We don’t even know yet if the Tesla HAD time to stop if the sensors or driver had seen the truck and applied the brake.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:30

I don’t trust any of that shit at this point, maybe a multi million dollar DARPA project could be better but trusting this thing to make decisions at this point is crazy. I’ll drive myself thanks. Once autonomous cars have a pretty good track record for a decade I might think about it, and that’s only if I can do nothing on the way to work. A few years ago in Japan I read about a test Mitsubishi did on traffic in Tokyo. They said the only way to make it really work was to have a central routing system for all vehicles in the city with their destinations, so it could efficiently route everyone as quickly as possible, there was something like a 60% improvement on traffic with the current levels. So that pretty much screws anyone in a hurry, but being in a hurry is illegal! But you will get there faster than when human brains were in charge. Also emergency response was good because the computer isn’t confused about where to go when the ambulance comes and the dicks in the BMWs who cut in and chase the ambulance to get through traffic aren’t there. I don’t doubt that inner city driving will be 100% regulated at some point.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:31

It is possible that shearing the roof off of the car took some sensors that the autopilot system requires with it. This could have caused the system to lockup and freeze, like a computer.

mazda616 > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
07/03/2016 at 12:32

I live in rural Kentucky, and I cannot wait to see how confused an autonomous car would be on our sorry excuses for roads. The road to my great aunt’s house is a one-lane half-paved trail through the woods and over two tiny creek bridges. And, cell phone signal is zilch. It'll be interesting to see the autonomous cars tested in areas like that. It seems to me the entire focus of their testing is in urban areas with perfect weather.

mazda616 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
07/03/2016 at 12:33

Makes sense. That also might have allowed the Tesla to leave the roadway like it did after the accident.

Leon711 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
07/03/2016 at 12:35

If the windshield/roof took an impact, this is likely what happened. The LIDAR, RADAR and other associated systems are usually housed at the top of the window. This is for everyone else, you already know this.

PS9 > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:35

Because it isn’t an autonomous car. It has features that allow it to operate itself under a specific set of conditions. Once those conditions are violated, a human is supposed to take control and operate the vehicle.

Auto lane changing and keeping within a lane are cool, but those things don’t create an opportunity to pull out a newspaper and read the funnies.

armandthegreat > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:36

Former Tesla employee here. I have developed a lack of faith in the company during the course of this year. They have consistently over promised and failed to deliver. As somone who spends everyday with a different Model X, the build quality is actually pretty mediocre. I was shocked to first sit inside one, the new Volvo XC90 is world’s better and at 30% less of a price. The fact that Tesla named their self-driving system Autopilot really irked me, as it invites incidences like this to happen. Even if its just marketing, some people might truly believe their cars can autopilot fully autonomously. The idea of the uneducated customers relying on the car’s autopilot concerns me greatly. But really, the computer guts within the Teslas are no more advanced than a mid-priced laptop. I for one would not trust my life to a laptop. I have to say that I left the company last month because I just have serious doubts about their future. Surely, the Model 3 will be a smash hit and the power wall will revolutionize home energy usage. But count me out. I’m trying to get a job at Rockstar San Diego right now so I can work on the new Red Dead Redemption.

armandthegreat > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:40

Its possible that the vehicle had enough forward momentum to propel itself after the collision. From what I understand, the bottom of the truck’s trailer scraped off the top of the Tesla, starting at the bottom of the windshield, essentially decapitating the driver. In this situation, and if the Tesla was moving fast enough, that wouldn’t be enough to stop the car, it might’ve have just skimmed under the trailer, leaving a mangled mess of glass, headliner, and brains behind. Another possibility is that due to the engagement of the autopilot system, the vehicle continued to drive. This is less likely, due to the failsafes that you mentioned, but its plausible that the system was shocked by the rapidity of the impact that it did not properly register.

armandthegreat > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 12:42

While we are on the topic, I am convinced that Mercedes has the best current self-driving system on their S-Class. If you are looking for an uber-luxury car, the S-Class is better than a Model S in nearly every conceivable fashion save for the fuel source.

Speed > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 13:05

Sounds about my neck of the woods in Science Hill, KY. I wonder if the autonomous cars would also refuse to use blinkers and drive in the oncoming lane.

N51fanatic > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 13:07

Autopilot is a great, GREAT advancement. But until it is 100% fully automated, to me, it shouldn't be trusted. How can you tell owners, yeah it will drive itself, but you have to pay attention just in case. You can't let people off the hook like that. They won't pay attention.

facw > Rainbow
07/03/2016 at 13:27

Of course this applies to human as well.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 13:27

Yeah a windy torrential downpour on the Golden Gate Bridge would be interesting. The lanes are tight and gusts come right across from the ocean.

BigBlock440 > Takuro Spirit
07/03/2016 at 13:47

I found the intersection on google, it’s straight as an arrow. Where the Tesla hit on the trailer, it was almost done with it’s turn. Maybe he underestimated the Tesla’s speed, maybe he didn’t look, he probably should have waited, but the Tesla would certanly have had time to stop had they been paying attention. Or even slow down a little and the truck would have been through. Semi’s aren’t nimble little critters and they really have to slow for a turn. They’re not going to jump out in front of you without you knowing.

DipodomysDeserti > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 16:16

Look up Newton’s First Law of Motion.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 18:24

My guess for it continuing is simply that once the collision was detected it would have gone out of autopilot mode so the driver could respond, although the driver couldn’t respond so it was just a 4,000lb car rolling at 75mph until it stopped.

TheBimmerGuyWhoNowOwnsAChevy > mazda616
07/03/2016 at 18:46

Honestly if I was in that Tesla, I wouldn’t even be that mad because I understand that autonomous driving is extremely experimental and shouldn’t even be used that often (in it’s current state.) Is it concerning? Yes, very concerning, but the technology is still experimental; I don’t understand why people expect Tesla’s autopilot to be perfect, it is still too basic to be used the way people want to at the moment. Mini rant over.

Brian McKay > mazda616
07/04/2016 at 00:42

Yep.

Watching Harry Potter was more important.

jalop1991 > TheBimmerGuyWhoNowOwnsAChevy
07/04/2016 at 09:29

You’re trying to understand people, but this guy was a cult member. Big difference.

And Musk is the TV preacher spouting “Autopilot!” and “Bioweapon Defense mode!” to the unwashed cultists, all in an effort to separate them from their money.