# Tesla Self Driving Car fatality **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827 "2016-06-30T21:03:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/1 "2016-06-30T21:03:07Z")
[Someone has already been killed, and yet the government is just opening an investigation](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-investigation-idUSKCN0ZG2ZC) instead of making these killer robots illegal. Apparently California is the only state that regulates driverless cars. But Teslas are cool, so it’s okay right? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/2 "2016-06-30T21:09:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [Someone has already been killed, and yet the government is just opening an investigation](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-investigation-idUSKCN0ZG2ZC) instead of making these killer robots illegal. Apparently California is the only state that regulates driverless cars. But Teslas are cool, so it’s okay right? :dubious: Yeah, I’m not buying this: > [@](#): > > Tesla said “neither Autopilot _nor the driver_ noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.” (my italics) - I think they meant the autopilot couldn’t see the truck, and the driver wasn’t paying attention. I utterly refuse to believe the driver was looking forward, and didn’t notice a white tractor trailer because it matched the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/3 "2016-06-30T21:11:58Z")
First known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. If these are killer robots they are damned inefficient. Certainly we can make better killer robots than that. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/4 "2016-06-30T21:12:54Z")
I don’t think it is OK, but it is acceptable. Self driving cars don’t have to be completely free of injuries or deaths, only less than human drivers, which are involved in 33,000 fatalities per year. Gotta break some eggs to make a fritatta. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/5 "2016-06-30T21:26:29Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > First known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. If these are killer robots they are damned inefficient. Certainly we can make better killer robots than that. Right. Even human drivers kill people at a rate of one per 100-million miles. The killer robots are about 20% worse at their job than their human counterparts, even accounting for the fact that many of the humans are drunk or texting. In fact, the US auto fatality rate has steadily declined since the advent of texting. Using these statistics, I’d recommend that every driver be required to text while driving. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/6 "2016-06-30T21:29:37Z")
What will we do when the robots figure out how to text?! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/7 "2016-06-30T21:29:42Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/8 "2016-06-30T22:04:36Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > What will we do when the robots figure out how to text?! Maybe they already do. If you see someone texting, how do you know if it is a human or a robot? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/9 "2016-06-30T22:13:31Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Yeah, I’m not buying this: > (my italics) - I think they meant the autopilot couldn’t see the truck, and the driver wasn’t paying attention. I utterly refuse to believe the driver was looking forward, and didn’t notice a white tractor trailer because it matched the sky. What scares me about this is that apparently the autopilot depends only on visual information? There’s no echo-location type thing built in as a backup? I would want my autopilot to be better than me, not just equivalent. That said, I don’t think I would have the guts to run a car on autopilot and not at least watch the road. Which condition I think would be worse than actually driving. So I guess I wouldn’t use it at all. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/10 "2016-06-30T22:14:12Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Yeah, I’m not buying this: > (my italics) - I think they meant the autopilot couldn’t see the truck, and the driver wasn’t paying attention. I utterly refuse to believe the driver was looking forward, and didn’t notice a white tractor trailer because it matched the sky. Yes, the driver probably wasn’t paying attention, because he was on AUTO-PILOT! We can’t get people to pay attention when they are the driver, do you expect them to be alert when they let the car drive itself? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/11 "2016-06-30T22:18:53Z")
For me? Not now, not ever. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/12 "2016-06-30T22:19:59Z")
I think it’s important to note that the Tesla wasn’t at fault in the accident. The tractor trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla and caused the accident. Any failure on the Tesla/driver was the failure to notice being cut off. If the other driver was driving safely there wouldn’t have been an accident. > **[Tesla driver using autopilot killed in crash](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/30/tesla-owner-killed-in-fatal-crash-while-car-was-on-autopilot/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_driverless-535pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory)** > > It is the first known fatality in more than 130 million miles driven with autopilot activated, Tesla said. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/13 "2016-06-30T22:20:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [Someone has already been killed, and yet the government is just opening an investigation](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-investigation-idUSKCN0ZG2ZC) instead of making these killer robots illegal. Apparently California is the only state that regulates driverless cars. But Teslas are cool, so it’s okay right? :dubious: Honestly, I’d rather the road be full of these so-called “killer robots” than drunk, texting, road-heading, or whatever human drivers. One fatality in 130M is much better than our primate brains can do. You’re like the people who refuse to eat GMOs, but then pay money to lay in a tanning bed and blast themselves with a confirmed carcinogen. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/14 "2016-06-30T22:28:19Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Honestly, I’d rather the road be full of these so-called “killer robots” than drunk, texting, road-heading, or whatever human drivers. One fatality in 130M is much better than our primate brains can do. You’re like the people who refuse to eat GMOs, but then pay money to lay in a tanning bed and blast themselves with a confirmed carcinogen. I have no problem getting rid of the sub-human drivers we already have also. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/15 "2016-06-30T22:31:23Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > That said, I don’t think I would have the guts to run a car on autopilot and not at least watch the road. Maybe not the first time, or the fifth, or even the tenth. But sooner or later, you would. As pointed out, these are already safer than human drivers, and I don’t usually watch the road when someone else is driving, either. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/16 "2016-06-30T22:35:28Z")
I’m unsure why this is supposedly such a big deal? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/17 "2016-06-30T22:41:30Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I’m unsure why this is supposedly such a big deal? Luddites gonna lud. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/18 "2016-06-30T22:41:52Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > What scares me about this is that apparently the autopilot depends only on visual information? There’s no echo-location type thing built in as a backup? I would want my autopilot to be better than me, not just equivalent. It has a forward pointing radar as well. I’m not sure why it didn’t activate, but I suspect it’s because the radar is pointed fairly low, and may well see straight through the underside of the trailer. If it were a car or the trailer were lower or otherwise, it probably wouldn’t have been a problem. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > That said, I don’t think I would have the guts to run a car on autopilot and not at least watch the road. Which condition I think would be worse than actually driving. So I guess I wouldn’t use it at all. I don’t know if there’s stats that support it yet, but I believe that augmented driving should be better than purely manual driving. Humans have a cognitive load limit, and every task that we perform cuts into that limit. The mere act of steering, although easy, eats a few percent. Maintaining the right following distance eats a few more percent. Automating these tasks means you can spend _more_ time doing high-level tasks, like paying attention to the traffic around you. Of course this all depends on you not using the time to text or otherwise goof off in the car. The temptation is certainly there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/19 "2016-06-30T22:51:08Z")
Wait, I don’t get it. The OP is upset that the government _is_ starting an investigation? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827/20 "2016-06-30T22:52:34Z")
It’s also worth noting that these aren’t like the Google completely autonomous vehicles. The “autopilot” in a Tesla is an assistive technology to a real driver: a way to keep you from having to manually stay in your lane and at appropriate distances from the cars about you. It is not, and is not meant to be, the kind of thing that you can take your eyes off the road while using. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-self-driving-car-fatality/758827.md?page=2)