Tesla faces its first fatal accident involving its autonomous driving system

Autonomous driving is the great promise of the automotive world, comparable only to the elimination of polluting gas emissions. It is the decisive moment, as this technology is beginning to attract strong investment and the future opens up to new possibilities. The news that a fatal accident occurred while the driver-assistance system of a Tesla Model S was engaged has reignited the debate over the safety of these features, which are designed to make driving easier both in the city and on the highway.

The accident took place on May 7 in the city of Williston, Florida, and as a result of the system’s failure the driver of the car, Joshua Brown, 45 years old, died. Apparently, the accident occurred when the system failed to detect a truck making a left turn. According to the official account, the sun was in the camera’s line of sight, which may have prevented the maneuver from being detected correctly.

As a consequence, the brakes were not applied and the car struck the trailer at too high a speed, causing the driver’s immediate death. Is this a sign that these systems are not yet perfected? Indeed, although a tragic death has occurred, it is the first on record after some 210 million kilometres driven with these systems. So what can we make of this?

Autonomous driving, safer according to the statistics

This accident does not mean that autonomous driving has failed, but it will lead to greater scrutiny. The incidence of an accident of this kind when a human is driving is one every 100 million kilometres, so, statistically speaking, the autonomous driving system of the Tesla is safer. But this is not a matter of statistics. A driver has died and has exposed a system that, in addition to this incident, has recorded others, fortunately without fatal results.

Brown belonged to a group of users who frequently used this system and reported problems in order to improve its operation. In fact, one of his videos records another error, in which a van merges into the lane where he was driving, and the driver had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

It is true that the Tesla has not yet fully validated the system (hence this community of users experimenting with it) and that it always advises keeping hands on the wheel at all times to avoid risks. The doors should not be closed in response to this event, since the driver himself was aware that this is not an “official” system.

Both the authorities and the company will have to be ready to carry out the necessary investigations to determine what may have failed and the solutions needed so that this situation does not happen again, since what is demanded of a system of this kind is complete safety. For the moment, doubt has been sown. Will manufacturers be able to solve these problems and make autonomous driving a safe and feasible reality?

Source | Carscoops