Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla’s driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped cell phone.
The driver, George McGee, was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled.
Good. Fuck that driver. Unless the “flashing red lights”; “a stop sign”; and a “T-intersection” were all on the same junction (or even if they weren’t), scrambling for a poxy phone while you’re propelling a tonne of metal at 70mph is a fucking disgraceful excuse.
That said, as much as I hate Musk, I can’t really see if this case has any legs to be fair. FSD is always “coming next year” so it’s little more than a driver aid rather than a driver substitute.
But yeah, fuck that guy.
while you’re propelling a tonne of metal
The Model S weighs 2 tonnes in fact, or 2.2 US tons. Electric cars are insanely heavy, so much so that existing traffic safety items like guard rails aren’t really designed to handle the heavier ones.
Not sharing to be Pedantic Internet User, just mind-boggling how heavy those things are.
yeah nah absolutely happy for the correction!
Fuck me, two tonnes? I bought myself an EV a few months back in an estate shape to replace my diesel estate, and honestly I hadn’t noticed much of a difference. I assume the drivetrains are a bit lighter but the batteries are a lot heavier than a tank full of dino juice.
Musk has intentionally been creating false expectations about the capabilities of these cars for years with the intent of increasing sales. Most people who buy them believe what he says and what they see, or think they see, in the ads. These people almost never read the manuals. If I were on the jury, I would surely have an open mind about finding Tesla liable depending on what else is revealed at trial.
I get ya but it apparently did not detect multiple very general traffic things that should be easy to detect. Im not sure they should be allowed to call anything autopilot if it can’t stop at a red light or stop sign.
Im not sure they should be allowed to call anything autopilot if it can’t stop at a red light or stop sign.
…Or a school buy with flashing lights and stop arm out, and a child shaped/sized target running out in front of it, during various tests.
that to.
It could have been a single intersection. The article has no useful info. Somehow, the car entered a space where people were standing/laying still stargazing, so, presumably, not the middle of the road. I have definitely seen some more rural areas use both a stop sign and a flashing red light overhead. Sometimes an all-way stop, sometimes one road has a flashing yellow to take the right of way. A leg of a tee would almost definitely get the red/stop while the crossroad could get either, if any sense was used in traffic planning. Leaving the tee via the nonexistent leg could certainly risk a car entering a people space.
Regardless, they are still 3+ separate items that should not have been missed, as you stated. A stop sign, a flashing red light, and leaving the road should all be condemnable as each is a normal circumstance. I’d agree, the speed limit likely did not allow 70mph, either
Fuck that driver indeed. 70 mph on a road with flashing reds and a stop sign? On a rural road near Key West? I can only assume “rural road” implies not US-1, and while I haven’t driven the area outside of US-1, I can’t imagine there’s too many roads with speed limits over 45.
The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way
Okay - I think that at least means it was on. Couldn’t tell if they were just expecting it to save them randomly when they were fumbling for their phone.
Or is auto-braking always enabled? Lots of non-self-driving/non-lane-keeping cars still have separate auto braking. I would assume, I would hope, auto braking is functional without autopilot needing to be engaged…
Terms used loosely. I don’t have faith in the visual-only tesla system. But if you’re an average driver, I could certainly see having high expectations for auto braking. I’m not talking about absolving the driver, I’m talking about bettering driver understanding through appropriate terminology for products but, I know, I’m an idiot for dreaming of such.
All Teslas have AEB (automatic emergency braking) which is active at all times.
It’s not a stop for a light or stop sign type thing, but it will try to slow the vehicle if a crash is imminent.
Never expect AEB in any car to reliably prevent a crash. That’s not it’s main purpose. Reducing speeds is. It will have more success at prevention at slower speeds.
Edit: You can watch the EURO NCAP testing of it here on the 2025 Model 3