Photo: Facebook / CSP
In another instance of “humans are terrible, but let’s just blame technology for everything,” another Tesla crash is re-opening the debate on whether the world is ready for Autopilot or, more specifically, whether laws should keep driver-assisted vehicles off the road until the tech is fully developed.
Since Tesla launched Autopilot, few weeks go by without one accident caused by a reckless driver. Tesla has said time and time again that Autopilot does not make the car fully self-driving and that the responsibility for the actual driving still falls on the human operator, but it doesn’t seem to strike a chord.
This time, there were no injuries, but financial damage seems pretty high, based on photos shared online by the Connecticut State Police. A Tesla Model 3 came rolling down Interstate 95, rear-ending a vehicle stalled in the left-center lane, even though it was properly signaled with blinking lights and flares positioned on the ground.
Then, the same Tesla, with the license plate “Model 3” (how original), hit the CSP Ford Taurus Police Interceptor, and continued to roll forward. It stopped shortly before hitting a second police cruiser.
“The operator of the Tesla stated that he had his vehicle on ‘auto-pilot’ and explained that he was checking on his dog which was in the back seat prior to hitting the collision,” CSP writes on Facebook. It doesn’t mention the speed of the Tesla at the moment of the first impact. Presumably, the dog wasn’t hurt either.
The driver was hit with 2 summonses for reckless endangerment and reckless driving, and an investigation is underway.
Because accidents involving Teslas on Autopilot are always bound to make headlines, earlier this year, Tesla revealed figures that show Autopilot effectively contributed to increasing the number of miles traveled without incident. For instance, an accident occurs every 436,000 miles on average, according to the NHTSA. Tesla says that number goes up to 2.87 million miles for Teslas with Autopilot mode on. Even without Autopilot engaged, the number of miles traveled without incident is still higher than with other cars, at 1.76 million.
In other words, stop blaming the technology and blame instead the human operators who won’t keep their hands on the wheel with Autopilot on, as instructed.
This time, there were no injuries, but financial damage seems pretty high, based on photos shared online by the Connecticut State Police. A Tesla Model 3 came rolling down Interstate 95, rear-ending a vehicle stalled in the left-center lane, even though it was properly signaled with blinking lights and flares positioned on the ground.
Then, the same Tesla, with the license plate “Model 3” (how original), hit the CSP Ford Taurus Police Interceptor, and continued to roll forward. It stopped shortly before hitting a second police cruiser.
“The operator of the Tesla stated that he had his vehicle on ‘auto-pilot’ and explained that he was checking on his dog which was in the back seat prior to hitting the collision,” CSP writes on Facebook. It doesn’t mention the speed of the Tesla at the moment of the first impact. Presumably, the dog wasn’t hurt either.
The driver was hit with 2 summonses for reckless endangerment and reckless driving, and an investigation is underway.
Because accidents involving Teslas on Autopilot are always bound to make headlines, earlier this year, Tesla revealed figures that show Autopilot effectively contributed to increasing the number of miles traveled without incident. For instance, an accident occurs every 436,000 miles on average, according to the NHTSA. Tesla says that number goes up to 2.87 million miles for Teslas with Autopilot mode on. Even without Autopilot engaged, the number of miles traveled without incident is still higher than with other cars, at 1.76 million.
In other words, stop blaming the technology and blame instead the human operators who won’t keep their hands on the wheel with Autopilot on, as instructed.
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