Autopilot, the self-driving feature in the new Tesla car, is a controversial subject because it puts the car’s computer in control of all driving responsibilities. To activate this autonomous mode, all the driver has to do is push a button and the computer has full control of the vehicle. The sole responsibility of the driver is to pay close attention to the way the car brakes, steers, and accelerates, while in autopilot mode. Amazingly, there has only been one known fatality involving a Tesla vehicle while driving in autopilot. In an article written by Jordan Golson and published by The Verge, this first fatality in a Tesla vehicle driving in autopilot is covered with great detail. On the other hand, an article written by Jacob Bogage …show more content…
This article does a good job explaining the facts about the crash using substantial detail and statistics. He explains that both the driver and the car’s sensors did not see a big rig and trailer “against a brightly lit sky.” Golson confirms that as a result of this visibility problem, the car crashed underneath the trailer and killed “Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton Ohio.” Also, Golson points out that Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the vehicles’ radar didn’t help in this case because it “tunes out what looks like an overhead road sign to avoid false breaking events.” This statement by Musk in Golson’s article gives relevant detail on how and why the vehicle crashed. On the other hand, “Tesla Driver Using Autopilot Killed in Crash” by Jacob Bogage does not contain such helpful details. Bogage writes, “…Tesla acknowledged that the accident might have been the fault of the computer.” Could Tesla be at fault? The vagueness of this statement does not give enough detail to let the readership formulate a personal opinion or even give Tesla the benefit of the doubt. If this were the only article a reader read about the fatal crash, he might unfairly give Tesla blame for the
I do not understand how a driver, in this case Rafaela Vasquez, did not take control of the vehicle if she was seating behind a wheel and is obviously responsible in my opinion for this tragedy. The “safety driver” did not pay attention to the road as in the video it is showed that she was looking “down and to the side”, even though she said she was “alert” and there is nothing she could have done to avoid the accident. “It was believed that this is the first pedestrian death associated with self-driving technology”. The company has stopped the testing in different cities, unfortunately, technologies advances sometimes brings human casualties to the mix. Self-driving cars should regulate better the “safety drivers” maybe she was looking at her phone instead to pay attention to the
Finally, if an accident were to occur involving a self-driving car, the question of “who is responsible” is raised. This is a difficult question that needs to be addressed with laws that govern liability in these situations.
Still in shock and disbelief of what was said, Dominick sent me the News article. Lewis was on his way to Oklahoma City when his truck had ran out of gas. He then decided to cross I-35 highway to Oklahoma City to get to a gas station. By doing that so he was struck by a semi truck and pronounced dead on the scene. It was an unexpected tragity to all of lewis's loved ones.
As previously mentioned, sudden car accidents are caused by various factors ranging from mechanical problems to the behaviors of drivers and passengers. However, most of these accidents are completely preventable, especially those associated with the behaviors of drivers and passengers. These accidents are preventable because passengers can adopt measures that enhance their safety while travelling. On the other hand, they are also preventable because drivers can avoid fatigue and distractions that cause them. Actually, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administ...
Now, let’s consider about short-termism of this case, it is not the failure of our current approach to promote ethical business conduct in my opinion. Because there are no technical problem or issue with the car itself, the car is normal and not had any damage or broken engine at all. Nobody was being hurt, injured or killed by the “defeat device” in the car’s engine. So that this is not a really big problem at all because of no death informed. I consider this aspect because there was another case which is also in car industry but people had been killed up to thousands number.
It might be hard to see where the self-driving car could have issues with safety but an interesting question arises when an accident is unavoidable. The question posed is “How should the car be programmed to act in the event of an unavoidable accident? Should it minimize the loss of life, even if it means sacrificing the occupants, or should it protect the occupants at all costs? Should it choose between these extremes at random?” (ArXiv). This is a very interesting question surrounding ethics. I’m not sure if there is a right answer to the question, which could stall the self-driving car industry. Before self-driving cars are mass produced a solution needs to be found to the question about unavoidable accidents. Although this question is a problem, there may not be a need to address the problem. It is said that “"driver error is believed to be the main reason behind over 90 percent of all crashes" with drunk driving, distracted drivers, failure to remain in one lane and falling to yield the right of way the main causes.” (Keating). Self-driving cars could eliminate those problems entirely and maybe with all cars on the road being self-driving cars, there would be no “unavoidable accidents”. Safety is the main issue the self-driving car is trying to solve in transportation and seems to do a good job at
Self-driving cars should not be produced because the technical part is not 100% figured out. In source #1 paragraph 23, it says “Computers develop glitches… could be deadly when it happens at 75 miles per hour on the freeway.” This is important because being in an accident on a freeway could lead to deadly injuries. When you might have been able to prevent that, when you were the driver. The self-driving car is what caused your injury so not having control could be a fatal technical
the Institute Aplin Videmanette.... ... middle of paper ... ... The driver of the car was under the influence of alcohol, and was being pursued by photographers that night. Al Fayed and the driver died upon impact.
In an article he wrote, he talks about why he never would ride in a self-driving car. He says that although he never drives and only gets rides from others, like a taxi, he still would never ride in a driverless car because the car does not have anything to lose if the car crashes, but people do so they are going to care about safety more [4]. The problem with looking at it that way it that he is expecting that having a reason to pay attention while driving it going to make the driver always pay attention and not make any mistakes, but they are just human. They are bound to make mistakes, for example, the fact that 90% of car accidents are caused by human just shows that humans are not perfect drivers no matter how much they have at stake. Also the car may not have anything to loss, but the company making the program that drives the car will. If the car that they make and sold to you, with a program installed that was designed to get you somewhere safely, were to get you hurt or killed that would make a large number of people question the companies technology. They do not want people to get injured and killed by their cars, for moral and marketing reasons, so they are going to be very sure that the car is safe before putting it on the market. Also people do not realize that the self-driving cars are getting put through more than just driving on normal
Inventors hope to help people with autonomous cars because “autonomous cars can do things that human drivers can’t” (qtd. in “Making Robot Cars More Human). One of the advantages that driverless cars have is that “They can see through fog or other inclement weather, and sense a stalled car or other hazard ahead and take appropriate action” (qtd. in “Making Robot Cars More Human). Harsh weather conditions make it difficult and dangerous for people to drive, however, the car’s ability to drive through inclement weather “frees the user’s time, creates opportunities for individuals with less mobility, and increases overall road safety” (Bose 1326). With all the technology and software in the car, it can “improve road traffic system[s] and reduces road accidents” (Kumar). One of the purposes for creating the driverless car was to help “make lives easier for senior citizens, people with disabilities, people who are ill, or people who are under influence of alcohol” (Kumar). It can be frightening to know that that we share share our roads with drivers that could potentially endanger our lives as well as other people’s lives. How can people not feel a sense of worry when “cars kill roughly 32,000 people a year in the U.S.” (Fisher 60)? Drivers who text while driving or drink and drive greatly impact the safety of other people, and Google hopes to reduces the risk of accidents and save lives with the
In July 12, The New York Times reported a news: “Inside the self-driving Tesla fatal accident”, which again caused enormous debates on whether self-driving cars should be legal or not.
Self-driving cars are the wave of the future. There is much debate regarding the impact a self-driving car will have on our society and economy. Some experts believe fully autonomous vehicles will be on the road in the next 5-10 years (Anderson). This means a vehicle will be able to drive on the road without a driver or any passengers. Like any groundbreaking technology, there is a fear of the unforeseen problems. Therefore, there will need to be extensive testing before anyone can feel safe with a vehicle of this style on the road. It will also take time for this type of technology to become financially accessible to the masses, but again alike any technology with time it should be possible. Once the safety concern has been fully addressed
Automotive executives touting self-driving cars as a way to make commuting more productive or relaxing may want to consider another potential marketing pitch: safety (Hirschauge, 2016). The biggest reason why these cars will make a safer world is that accident rates will enormously drop. There is a lot of bad behavior a driver exhibit behind the wheel, and a computer is actually an ideal motorist. Since 81 percent of car crashes are the result of human error, computers would take a lot of danger out of the equation entirely. Also, some of the major causes of accidents are drivers who become ill at the time of driving. Some of the examples of this would be a seizure, heart attack, diabetic reactions, fainting, and high or low blood pressure. Autonomous cars will surely remedy these types of occurrences making us
As self-driving cars have been sent out to different states across the US, they’ve have been used to see how well it performs on the road. On March 18 of 2018 in Arizona, one of Uber's autonomous testing states, a self-driving car struck and killed a woman who was crossing the street late at night. Although there was a back up driver behind the wheel, the car should have picked up the movement and either warned the driver or stopped the car. What helps self-driving cars work are the use of cameras, radar, and laser sensors. A computer collects the data from the sensors to `determine how fast the car should go, when to brake, and which direction to turn.
Even though that was the first accident that was a result of the new trend. There are still only a few states that even have laws in place to make it legal to use autopilot on cars. Even though future laws are pending every single car maker still has some sort of autonomous feature placed in future cars. I do believe that once the new laws are released and Tesla does an update to their Auto pilot system cars driven by people in the future will be a farfetched idea. The conclusion that can be drawn from the steep analysis is that autopilot seems like a scary new trend but their will come a time when it will totally illegal for a person to take control of their car unless in emergency situations.