Tesla Driver Killed While Using Autopilot Was ‘Too Busy Watching A Kid’s Movie’

I’ve wished for car autopilot for years but for legit reasons like boredom, drunkedness and just because who the hell doesn’t want autopilot?!? I never thought “I wish this car could drive itself so I could watch a movie.”

The driver killed in a Tesla Model S in May was using the autopilot feature at the time of the crash. But there’s more to the story than just a technical problem. At the time of the crash, Tesla system performance data downloaded from the car revealed the driver was traveling 74 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Tuesday.

Tesla system performance data downloaded from the car indicated that vehicle speed just prior to impact was 74 mph. System performance data also revealed that the driver was operating the car using the advanced driver assistance features Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer lane keeping assistance. The car was also equipped with automatic emergency braking that is designed to automatically apply the brakes to reduce the severity of or assist in avoiding frontal collisions.

So the car should have done it’s job BUT the driver probably could have avoided he crash, possibly, if he saw it all happen before the car. But he didn’t. He was busy.

Frank Baressi, 62, the driver of the truck involved , told the Associated Press the Tesla driver was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” at the time of the crash and driving so quickly that “he went so fast through my trailer I didn’t see him.”

“Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

[via NESN Fuel]


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