Another Tesla crashed, killing its two passengers.
It’s definitely a tragedy, but the public gets used to this news since these accidents happen regularly. The last time was in March. Two people were severely injured after drove beneath a semitrailer suspecting using a self-driving system. We should notice that these news only reported fatal accidents related to the self-driving system but minor accidents. The actual number of accident cases caused by using self-driving technology should be much greater than expected. Though self-driving technology is admitted to be a big trend in the future, it should not be developed at the cost of human lives.
Many may argue that the number of automated driving deaths is pretty low compared to auto accidents. And the automated driving system is gradually eliminating the accidents caused by human problems such as sleeping, drinking, texting, or drug influence. In the long run, I also believe in self-driving technology that can provide a better driving solution and ultimately strengthen driving safety. However, these deaths should not be tolerated by these achievements that may happen in the future. The government should implement a stricter investigation on the risk calculation of self-driving software.
The safety of using an autopilot system has to be emphasized. Many accidents after investigation are caused by mistakenly think Autopilot is a safe self-driving feature that doesn’t require the drivers’ attention. Even though Tesla has announced to all drivers that they should pay attention to the road condition and be prepared to control the vehicle while using Autopilot, these accidents are still growing. The public should realize that the Autopilot is not mature enough to take control of a car fully. Many human-made solutions are coded into the program, and what Autopilot does is actually match these road situations with its existing solutions. Autopilot is not as developed as to figure out the best solution for every unique problem yet.
Comments