Tesla driver killed while using autopilot was watching Harry Potter, witness says

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Tesla driver killed while using autopilot was watching Harry Potter, witness says

Sam Levin and Nicky Woolf in San Francisco
Friday 1 July 2016 18.43 BST

The Tesla driver killed in the first known fatal crash involving a self-driving car may have been watching a Harry Potter movie at the time of the collision in Florida, according to a truck driver involved in the crash.

The truck driver, Frank Baressi, 62, told the Associated Press that the Tesla driver Joshua Brown, 40, was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” during the collision and was driving so fast that “he went so fast through my trailer I didn’t see him”.

The disclosure raises further questions about the 7 May crash in Williston, Florida, which occurred after Brown put his Model S into Tesla’s autopilot mode, which is able to control a car while it’s driving on the highway.

The fatal crash, which federal highway safety regulators are now investigating, is a significant setback and a public relations disaster for the growing autonomous vehicle industry. Tesla Motors Inc’s shares, however, were down less than 1% on Friday in early trading.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/01/tesla-driver-killed-autopilot-self-driving-car-harry-potter

LBN thread: Self-Driving Tesla Was Involved in Fatal Crash, U.S. Says

[RKP5637]

1. Incredible, and it was Beta Test software. Makes one wonder, do they screen

drivers, or does everyone just get it. It's primed for dangerous situations IMO.

[metroins]

6. Everyone gets it that accepts the

Over the air (OTA) upgrade and accepts the ToS that states the operator is responsible for any actions of the vehicle.

However, this will be a sticky situation, as the company has made many marketing campaigns and been a little cavalier with their product roll outs.

Hopefully the family does not sue, because it is the drivers fault and I don't want this guy ruining it for everybody.

[Lance Bass esquire]

2. Somewhere there is a sleazy lawyer

Figuring out how to bring a wrongful death case against The Harry Potter franchise.

[cwydro]

3. Are we so fucking lazy that we can't drive our own cars anymore?

Sheesh.

[NYC Liberal]

5. It's not about laziness but about safety.

Obviously it is far from ready for prime time, but once ALL cars are self-driven then the roads will be much safer with far fewer accidents.

[cwydro]

7. Until that time however...

Watching a movie while on a highway...that makes no sense to me.

[lunamagica]

11. A lot of people can't drive, and it is not because they are lazy

[woolldog]

15. But this guy could drive.

And he chose to watch a movie instead of paying attention to the road and put others at risk. That's lazy.

The car plowed through the trailer and kept driving until it ran into a telephone pole. Others could've gotten hurt.

[longship]

4. Too bad he did not remember Levicorpus.

Sorry. Could not resist.

[backscatter712]

8. Tesla themselves warned, LOUDLY, with warnings in the software...

...that the driver needed to keep an eye on the road and be ready to take control at any time while the autopilot was engaged.

Looks like the autopilot's about like the rest of the car - a handy tool, but you have to know how to use it, and not be stupid, to avoid being hurt or killed.

[csziggy]

9. That is incredibly stupid on that stretch of road

I've driven Alt-US27 between Chiefland and Williston dozens (if not hundreds) of times since 1972. Driving between Central Florida and Tallahassee it's that, regular US 27
out of Ocala or I-10 from Lake City. Although Alt-US27 is now a four lane divided highway, there is still farm traffic and numerous local roads and driveways that intersect the road. It's hard enough keeping a vehicle on cruise control with all the cars, trucks and tractors that pull out without giving proper right of way - no way I would ever consider trusting a self driving car without paying attention to conditions.

The speed limit there is 65 or 70 but I have had farm tractors pull out and go 20. Once I even came up on a guy driving his lawn tractor down the pavement at maybe 5 mph. I've also had people pass me who must have been going close to 100 mph.

In addition, a major factor in the accident seems to be the lighting. That stretch of road is very straight and angles WNW - at this time of year in the late afternoon you're driving directly into the sunset. No wonder the car's cameras couldn't see the truck - it's hard to see objects against the setting sun with good eyesight! I plan my trips so that I am not heading west in the late afternoon just for this reason.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. So the death toll from computer-driven cars is one, now.

What's the death toll from cars driven by people for this year?

[nationalize the fed]

12. who could possibly think it would be a good idea to release beta software

to the world- that controls a not ready for prime time "autopilot"?

It is important to note that Tesla disables Autopilot by default and requires explicit acknowledgement that the system is new technology and still in a public beta phase before it can be enabled.

Absurd. This won't be the last incident of this "autopilot" causing injury and death. Hopefully Tesla will be sued to make them stop- at least until the "Beta" phase is over. Anyone could have seen this coming. Literally anyone.

Meanwhile, that 4,000 pound Tesla rocketing towards you may be on "autopilot" so beware.

[Odin2005]

14. The drivers know the risks they are taking but it is still somehow Tesla's fault?

[Odin2005]

13. This is 100% the driver's fault.

The driver surely must have known that the technology isn't totally there yet but then decided to be an idiot.