Tesla on Autopilot Claims Life of Motorcyclist

[Jeff Higgins]

This happened about ten miles away from my house. I ride or drive through this intersection at least five or six times a week.

https://komonews.com/news/local/tesla-autopilot-crash-motorcycle-snohomish-county-auto-pilot-hit-killed-dead-lunch-drink-impairment-no-dui-vehicular-homicide-charge-washington-state-patrol-probable-cause-arrest-distracted-driving-cell-phone#

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — The driver of a Tesla said he was on autopilot mode and distracted by his cell phone when his vehicle "lurched forward" and hit and killed a motorcyclist Friday afternoon.

The incident occurred on eastbound State Route 522 at Fales Road, and probable cause documents were filed by the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. The 56-year-old Tesla sedan driver told a Washington State Patrol trooper he was driving home behind the motorcycle on SR 522 when he looked down at his phone "while the vehicle was rolling forward on auto pilot."

Admittedly distracted by his cell phone, the next thing the driver knew, "there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him," according to probable cause documents.

How much of this are we going to put up with? Why is autonomous driving even allowed on public roadways? We have seen several incidents wherein these systems didn't "see" or "recognize" motorcyclists and wound up running over them, killing several along the way.

[astrochex]

This is horrible.

The “driver” should serve full time.

And perhaps insurance rates should be increased for vehicles with an autonomous driving function.

[Norm K]

I'd say it's at least possible that he effed up and is trying to blame the car. Either way, distracted driving has claimed yet another victim.

_

[Jeff Higgins]

Increasing insurance rates will not stop this from happening. Outlawing this technology on public roads will.

Yes, it's entirely possible this was the driver's fault, with no autopilot involvement. I don't understand, though, how he could possibly think it will make it "better" for him to say his car was driving itself. To my way of thinking, that only makes it worse. As "pilot in command", he is still responsible for everything that vehicle does. To try to evade some responsibility by claiming he was not in control, to me, compounds his guilt.

[Sooner or later]

The driver is still responsible. How many instances has a Tesla in autopilot mode kept an inattentive driver from having an accident? We won't hear about them.

Is there actual data that shows accident rates compared between auto mode and a car under complete driver control? I would imagine auto pilot would be higher.

[Jeff Higgins]

They seem to be particularly "blind" to motorcyclists. And, apparently, featureless sides of large semi truck trailers. I could really give a rip if they hit the latter, but as an avid rider, I have some concerns about the former. Distracted drivers hit plenty of us as it is. Autopilot doesn't seem to help with that.

[Chocaholic]

The story reads like a guilty driver blaming the technology. The deep pockets are Tesla. I would think automotive forensics will determine if anything he said was true.

[Jeff Higgins]

Do those things have anything like a "black box" on them? Can data be retrieved that will confirm or dispel his claims?

[Baz]

distracted by his cell phone

Not trying to diminish in any way the legitimate concern of autopilot driven cars...........but from my everyday vantage point I don't know why cell phone usage is even permitted in any vehicles being driven.

I mean....we don't even see PSA's about this!

Guess I shouldn't be surprised given how far we've fallen as a society......

RIP to the rider and his loved ones.......

[MMARSH]

That's horrible.

Drivers fault. He's behind the wheel. He's still in control of the vehicle. I use autopilot all the time. It's not a perfect system. No doubt, the driver still needs to pay attention. If you set the cruise control on your car and ran into the back of someone while your looking down, it's the drivers fault.

Curious what version of autopilot he has.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Do those things have anything like a "black box" on them? Can data be retrieved that will confirm or dispel his claims?

Of course it does. And it better tell the same story as the driver. AFA the criminality goes, the Tesla driver was led to believe that the car would stop. Many cars come with automatic emergency braking (AEB) so it's not just Tesla and autopilot.

People need to DRIVE their cars actively but you can't deny that the manufacturers have promised us some safety features and we believe them.

[MMARSH]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

They seem to be particularly "blind" to motorcyclist

Curious where you get that info. My personal experience after 100K miles is they pick them up pretty well. Curious if your personal experience is different.

[stealthn]

I heard that British Columbia Canada has banned autonomously driving cars in the province, not just that you can’t use self driving, you cannot have the car on the roads. Until it’s perfected I agree…

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by stealthn

I heard that British Columbia Canada has banned autonomously driving cars in the province, not just that you can’t use self driving, you cannot have the car on the roads. Until it’s perfected I agree…

Level 3 or higher. Tesla are level 2

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by MMARSH

Curious where you get that info. My personal experience after 100K miles is they pick them up pretty well. Curious if your personal experience is different.

There have been several incidents in the last few years wherein a car on autopilot killed a motorcyclist. I do remember it engendered a good deal of discussion regarding these systems and how they can be "blind" to motorcyclists. I believe we even discussed it on this forum. Same when one of them broadsided a semi trailer.

I did a cursory Google search on this topic. Too many links out there to narrow them down to post here. Hundreds of hits on this. Granted, most referring to about three incidents (in addition to the one I noted above), but plenty of commentary on these things not "seeing" motorcycles under all conditions. Like the sunny afternoon captured in the photo accompanying the linked article:

[Bill Douglas]

Double guilty. Distracted driving (cellphone use) and not being fully in control of a motor vehicle.

[speeder]

There was recently a case in MN where a young MD was killed on a morning jog by a Tesla supposedly on self-driving mode. Actually was a hit and run but when the guy got caught, he claimed that the car was driving itself while he was checking emails and that he did not know that he hit someone.

Total BS story from the sound of it and of course, Teslas have data loggers that can prove or disprove his story...at least the self-driving claim.

[Arizona_928]

Progressives… where even their car will spill the beans on them

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Progressives… where even their car will spill the beans on them

Oh yeah, people pay a lot of money for their tracking devices now. I'm about to sell the 2022 Chevy that I just bought because it bugs me that it reports my driving habits to my insurance company, (according to an article in NYT, at least).

People are blasé about this **** and it's truly a creep/boiling frog situation...by the time everyone notices it, it's been going on forever. I foresee a future selling good analog cars and trucks to people who have had enough of it. I'm already working on my inventory.

[zakthor]

I know a kid with a tesla. He experimented a few times and now wont turn on the self driving. I guess the car is confused by the road to his house and keeps veering into a big ditch.

But anyway: im a cyclist and afraid of all the cars. Sick of being run off the road and yelled at, and the wrist slap that drivers get. Wondering is there some way to purchase a bond for the bad guys in narcos to come sloppily execute whoever nukes me? I imagine an advertised bond from local cycling advocates the word would get out fast. I just dont see how behavior can change without real consequences.

As for tesla: theyre partially at fault for calling it autopilot and overpromising for all these years. They should have razor accurate driver attention detection, turn off for 30 seconds if it gets a whiff of inattention for the driver. The stories of the tesla guy that hung weights on his steering wheel and slept in the back seat…