I'm sure at this point most of us have heard about the tesla accident with a semi, with the tesla driver using autopilot. I'm curious where this occurred, the article says US 27, but does anyone on here know the exact intersection? I'm curious because I want to see what the intersection looks like so I can fully understand what exactly happened. All of the articles I read omit a decent description of the intersection. Could someone provide clarification?
I guess self-driving vehicles are not yet ready for prime time. I still think they are the wave of the future, though.
It took about 12 years, give or take, for the internet to get rolling, and that's not including the 1960s and 70s when the beginning pieces of the internet started forming.
A true driverless car has existed for 4 years. And people expect perfection.
I don't live that far from Williston, FL where the accident occurred (~35 miles). I had not even heard about it until I saw it on the national news a week or so later. Don't quote me, but I believe that I read that it took place on Alt 27 which would have been northwest of Williston. But I do not know what cross-street.
There were unsubstantiated rumors that the driver had been watching a movie at the time. Harry Potter, no less. I mean, if you're gonna die over a movie, make it a smoker. A classic, like Behind the Green Door.
I look at it this way: With autopilot in an airplane, you've got heading hold and altitude hold. You also (generally) have ATC watching you on radar. Heading hold in a car is meaningless unless you're driving FL70 through DeSoto and Highlands Counties where you have miles of straight road. Bottom line: The pilot-in-command has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the flight. Same in an automobile. Pilot error.
Quote from: Fred Defender on July 15, 2016, 11:45:25 AM
I don't live that far from Williston, FL where the accident occurred (~35 miles). I had not even heard about it until I saw it on the national news a week or so later. Don't quote me, but I believe that I read that it took place on Alt 27 which would have been northwest of Williston. But I do not know what cross-street.
There were unsubstantiated rumors that the driver had been watching a movie at the time. Harry Potter, no less. I mean, if you're gonna die over a movie, make it a smoker. A classic, like Behind the Green Door.
I look at it this way: With autopilot in an airplane, you've got heading hold and altitude hold. You also (generally) have ATC watching you on radar. Heading hold in a car is meaningless unless you're driving FL70 through DeSoto and Highlands Counties where you have miles of straight road. Bottom line: The pilot-in-command has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the flight. Same in an automobile. Pilot error.
Now if the guy was watching a porno that would have given the story a lot more lasting traction in the mass media...still Harry Potter is pretty friggin weird. :-D I'm surprised that there hasn't been a thread about "what movie would you like to be watching when your autopilot fails?" My vote would be the original Vanish Point....have a white Tesla which somehow morphs into a Camaro right before you crash.
Bumping this thread because the NTSB released their findings on the crash.
https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR20170912.aspx