- A video from Taiwan shows how a Model 3 on Autopilot rammed into a truck on the highway.
- Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the accident and the driver escaped without any injuries as per local media reports.
- This incident has led to criticism of Tesla’s Autopilot system across some quarters.
Tesla‘s Autopilot system is far from perfect, which is why the company asks drivers to always be aware of the situation and keep their hands on the wheel while driving. However, a new video from Taiwan has shown that the system may not have worked as perfectly as it probably should have.
The video shows a white Model 3 ramming into an already collapsed truck on the highway. While the rest of the drivers are seen shifting lanes beforehand, the Model 3 continues on the truck’s path and eventually collides with it. Fortunately, the truck was empty and the driver of the Tesla was unhurt by the accident. It’s likely that the top of the truck cushioned the blow to some extent.
The driver seems to have acknowledged that some autonomous features were turned on during this accident, raising suspicion of the feasibility of the feature. Tesla’s Autopilot system comes with an emergency braking system that is activated automatically. As the video shows, there was some braking prior to the collision, although it’s unknown at the moment if the automatic braking kicked in or if the driver was applying the brakes before the crash.
In any case, this seems like a case that could’ve been easily avoided with some awareness on the part of the driver. Though the driver got out unscathed here, we’ve seen worse crashes before. In many of those cases, the drivers would almost never have their hands on the wheel.
This only proves that no matter how good the technology gets, driving a car requires the same amount of attention given the rapidly changing landscape as well as the occurrence of unpredictable events like accidents on. This crash, however, raises some legitimate concerns about autonomous driving on the highways.
What do you think?
Source: SETN
Via: MSN