Tesla autopilot vehicle crash threatens self-driving cars

Can self-driving vehicles replace human control? That is the question many are asking after the fatal crash of a Tesla electric car that used an autopilot feature in Florida was reported. The car, which is still in beta testing, has never been reviewed by regulators and highlights the dangers of self-driving vehicles in the absence of relevant federal rules.

As it stands now, the automakers do not need to get the technology approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) before rolling it out to the public. They just have to self-attest that their vehicles meet federal safety standards. But the pint is that there are no such standards for autonomous driving features, as yet.

The accident that happened on May 7, in clear, dry conditions, the roof of the Tesla Model S, driven by 40-year-old Joshua Brown was sheared as it slammed into a tractor trailer attempting to turn in front of it in Williston, Fla. Brown, a former Navy Seal from Canton, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tesla blamed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lighted sky for the crash, which the company said confused the car.

“The new technology and still in a public beta phase, and as more real-world miles accumulate the probability of injury will keep decreasing,” Tesla acknowledged in a lengthy statement on Thursday. But the company has come under severe scrutiny as critics, lawmakers and safety advocates say carmakers should not be using their customers as guinea pigs.

Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety is calling for the company to issue a recall and disable the autopilot function until NHTSA issues safety guidelines. “If you don’t have a radar system on a car that can tell you there’s a truck ahead of you, there’s a problem,” he said.

The tragic incident raises some serious concern about whether current autonomous vehicle technology is ready for use on public roads. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who oversees NHTSA, is expected to issue guidelines for autonomous vehicles this month. However, those guidelines are expected to focus on fully self-driving cars, which are different from the Tesla Model S, which simply equips the vehicle with an autopilot mode. The autopilot feature in the vehicle uses cameras, radars and sensors to steer the vehicle, change lanes, and has to be manually turned on by the driver.