Deadly Tesla Crash Exposes Confusion over Automated Driving

How much do we really know about what so-called self-driving vehicles can and cannot do? The fatal traffic accident involving a Tesla Motors car that crashed while using its Autopilot feature offers a stark reminder that such drivers are in uncharted territory--and of the steep cost of that uncertainty. The sensor systems that enable Tesla's hands-free driving are the result of decades of advances in computer vision and machine learning. Yet the failure of Autopilot--built into 70,000 Tesla vehicles worldwide since October 2014--to help avoid the May 7 collision that killed the car's sole occupant demonstrates how far the technology has to go before fully autonomous vehicles can truly arrive. The crash occurred on a Florida highway when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of a 2015 Tesla Model S that was in Autopilot mode and the car failed to apply the brakes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)--which is investigating--said in a preliminary report.