The U.S. government’s road safety agency is again investigating Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system, this time after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday with the company reporting four crashes after Teslas entered areas of low visibility, including sun glare, fog and airborne dust.
In addition to the pedestrian’s death, another crash involved an injury, the agency said.
Investigators will look into the ability of “Full Self-Driving” to “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions, and if so, the contributing circumstances for these crashes.”
OK, we’ll make it simple then.
If you make a self driving car and it kills a pedestrian, then you give the family of the victim $50 million, and a seat on the board. Forever. Every decision you make from then on will be looking into the faces of the people whose lives you destroyed, while they turn down your bonuses.
Also, I don’t believe for one second that a self driving car is safer than somebody who should legally be behind the wheel of a car. If the sun is in your eyes, you slow down. If you can’t see the conditions ahead, you slow down.