A shocking video has appeared in which a car (Tesla Model 3) is rushing at high speed in a truck lying on the highway and this without even trying to slow down.
If the images surprise or even shock, you should know that no one was injured. However, they show that although the Autopilot greatly reduces the risk of accident and is progressing regularly, it is not foolproof and the driver must keep control of his vehicle in all circumstances .
Overconfidence in the Autopilot
The videos that go around social networks today come from Taiwan and more precisely from Highway 1. This impressive accident happened yesterday, in broad daylight, under beautiful sun. The driver had plenty of time to react and yet the Model 3 came to fit into a delivery truck lying on the left lane, almost without slowing down.
There is reason to wonder about the circumstances of the accident, yet so easily avoided. Police have since declared that the Tesla driver claimed that the Autopilot was activated with a speed set to 110 km/h : “ He thought the car itself would detect the obstacle and brake automatically, but was surprised the car didn’t slow down.”
Again, a Tesla driver overestimated the capabilities of the Autopilot. Fortunately for him, the accident was not as tragic as that of the Apple engineer who died driving his Model X. However, it should be remembered that the Autopilot is not an autonomous driving system, but only provides assistance. Elon Musk, optimist, announces autonomous driving for the end of 2020, after having already predicted it for the end of last year. It is to avoid this kind of accident that Europe is stricter and limit the autonomous driving capabilities.
rear better quality pic.twitter.com/myiBNmQdx9
— Fred Lambert is never getting his Roadster 🐓 (@jsin86524368) June 1, 2020
