Monday, July 11, 2016

Lessons From the #Tesla Crash




 A recent fatal crash in Florida involving aTesla Model S is an example of how a new technology designed to make cars safer could, in some cases, make them more dangerous. These risks, however, could be minimized with better testing and regulations.

 Tesla says that the wrecked car’s assisted-driving system, called Autopilot, did not detect a white tractor-trailer when — against a bright sky — it turned in front of the car. The driver, Joshua Brown, who died in the crash, also did not hit the brakes, possibly because he was distracted.



 More than 35,200 people were killed in car crashes in this country last year, up 7.7 percent from 2014. People caused most of those accidents. Driverless cars could help reduce that toll substantially, but those vehicles are still years away. In the meantime, many car companies are trying to improve safety in other ways. For example, some systems, primarily found in luxury cars like Teslas, can slow or stop cars when drivers are not paying attention.

 Tesla’s electric cars are not self-driving, but when the Autopilot system is engaged it can keep the car in a lane, adjust its speed to keep up with traffic and brake to avoid collisions. Tesla says audio and visual alerts warn drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel and watch the road. If a driver is unresponsive to the alerts, the car is programmed to slow itself to a stop.

 Such warnings aren’t sufficient, though; some Tesla drivers, as shown invideos on YouTube, have even gotten into the back seat while the car was moving. Such reckless behavior threatens not just the drivers but everyone else on the road, too.

 It’s not surprising that technology that helps drivers can lull them into thinking they need not pay attention at all. Chris Urmson, who heads Google’s driverless car project, said in a TED talk last year that when his company tested a driver assistance system some drivers became so dangerously distracted that Google pulled back on that concept. It has decided to focus its efforts on fully self-driving cars instead.

 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should study how automakers can minimize driver distraction. This will become more urgent as advanced systems become available in cars made for the mass market.

 A recent fatal crash in Florida involving aTesla Model S is an example of how a new technology designed to make cars safer could, in some cases, make them more dangerous. These risks, however, could be minimized with better testing and regulations.

 Tesla says that the wrecked car’s assisted-driving system, called Autopilot, did not detect a white tractor-trailer when — against a bright sky — it turned in front of the car. The driver, Joshua Brown, who died in the crash, also did not hit the brakes, possibly because he was distracted.

 More than 35,200 people were killed in car crashes in this country last year, up 7.7 percent from 2014. People caused most of those accidents. Driverless cars could help reduce that toll substantially, but those vehicles are still years away. In the meantime, many car companies are trying to improve safety in other ways. For example, some systems, primarily found in luxury cars like Teslas, can slow or stop cars when drivers are not paying attention.

 Tesla’s electric cars are not self-driving, but when the Autopilot system is engaged it can keep the car in a lane, adjust its speed to keep up with traffic and brake to avoid collisions. Tesla says audio and visual alerts warn drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel and watch the road. If a driver is unresponsive to the alerts, the car is programmed to slow itself to a stop.

 Such warnings aren’t sufficient, though; some Tesla drivers, as shown invideos on YouTube, have even gotten into the back seat while the car was moving. Such reckless behavior threatens not just the drivers but everyone else on the road, too.

 It’s not surprising that technology that helps drivers can lull them into thinking they need not pay attention at all. Chris Urmson, who heads Google’s driverless car project, said in a TED talk last year that when his company tested a driver assistance system some drivers became so dangerously distracted that Google pulled back on that concept. It has decided to focus its efforts on fully self-driving cars instead.

 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should study how automakers can minimize driver distraction. This will become more urgent as advanced systems become available in cars made for the mass market.

Nytimes.com

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