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A Tragic Loss

tesla.com

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Re: A Tragic Loss

#11

Post by tpatke »

Not good enough.

I think Tesla have a lot to answer for here. They are pushing the limits of a technology which Google has said, "needs to be 100% autonomous". No steering wheel. Tesla knows this, but branded their car as 'auto-pilot' anyway. When it became clear from early youtube videos that people were not using the technology 'correctly' Tesla did nothing more than issuing a statement.

They should be considering a recall. It is not good enough that Tesla PR is 'sad' that someone died. What are they doing about it?

Re: A Tragic Loss

#12

Post by [deleted] »

manmal wrote: post #5
farhanhubble wrote: post #4

"Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied". Did the model not have a forward looking RADAR?

No, as far as I can read, Teslas don't have LIDARs yet (but they are reported to have them, soon: http://electrek.co/2016/03/18/tesla-model-s-test-vehicle-aut... ).

[deleted]

Re: A Tragic Loss

#13

Post by efaref »

It sounds like the trailer didn't have underrun guards, which I think are mandatory in Europe, but presumably not in the US.

http://www.transportsfriend.org/road/guards.html

I expect those would have helped in this situation, as the car would have impacted the guards (and thus it would be a normal collision), rather than having its top sliced off.

Re: A Tragic Loss

#14

Post by hellofunk »

> It is important to note

> It is important to emphasize

I am getting so disappointed by how widespread this wasteful use of the English language has become. The phrase is just filler and means nothing, yet it is used everywhere, nearly every HN thread has someone who uses it. If you need to note something, then note it. By putting it into words, you have said "this is important enough to actually say it." Further saying that it is important is a crutch.

This is probably why copy editors get so frustrated when technical people write things, because the idiom is particularly pervasive in the tech blogosphere.

We all need to do a service to the value of our words and see [0 ... 3]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:It_should_be_noted

[1] http://womeninwetlands.blogspot.nl/2013/12/it-is-important-t...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:%22Note_that%22_is_u...

[3] http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/266529/similar-ph...

Re: A Tragic Loss

#15

Post by tmikaeld »

According to the numbers, Teslas cars are by far the safest ones you can drive.

I don't expect autonomous driving to be perfect until all variables can be accounted for and the largest being humans behind the wheels.

Re: A Tragic Loss

#16

Post by martin_bech »

KaiserPro wrote: post #6

The main problem with all of this, is that its not a true autopilot. In fact its the worst kind of autopilot. one that bails out at the last minute leaving you fuck all time to take action. telsa's autopilot is level 3, which means freeway driving only: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_car#Classification The thing I fear now is the toxic mix of fanboyism and excessive PR management reminiscent of the worst ex…

The thing I fear now, is fearmongering by people who dont drive Teslas, havent spent time with Autosteer/autopilot and ignore that this was a freak accident, that probably would have killed the driver regardless of using autopilot.

This is the future of roadsafety.

Re: A Tragic Loss

#17

Post by tmikaeld »

martin_bech wrote: post #16
KaiserPro wrote: post #6

The main problem with all of this, is that its not a true autopilot. In fact its the worst kind of autopilot. one that bails out at the last minute leaving you fuck all time to take action. telsa's autopilot is level 3, which means freeway driving only: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_car#Classification The thing I fear now is the toxic mix of fanboyism and excessive PR management reminiscent of the worst ex…

The thing I fear now, is fearmongering by people who dont drive Teslas, havent spent time with Autosteer/autopilot and ignore that this was a freak accident, that probably would have killed the driver regardless of using autopilot. This is the future of roadsafety.

That's exactly what i fear as well, that innovation will halt and reverse because of fear of using new technology.

Even if it's statistically safer than the alternative.

Re: A Tragic Loss

#18

Post by Swizec »

hellofunk wrote: post #14

> It is important to note > It is important to emphasize I am getting so disappointed by how widespread this wasteful use of the English language has become. The phrase is just filler and means nothing, yet it is used everywhere, nearly every HN thread has someone who uses it. If you need to note something, then note it. By putting it into words, you have said "this is important enough to actually say it." Further sa…

It is important to note that there is some writing that sounds like a college graduate wrote it and some writing that is good.

There is no overlap.

Re: A Tragic Loss

#19

Post by Rafert »

efaref wrote: post #13

It sounds like the trailer didn't have underrun guards, which I think are mandatory in Europe, but presumably not in the US. http://www.transportsfriend.org/road/guards.html I expect those would have helped in this situation, as the car would have impacted the guards (and thus it would be a normal collision), rather than having its top sliced off.

The description of the accident surprised me as well, but your comment makes sense. Vehicles getting under trailers is something I've only seen in (US) movies.

Re: A Tragic Loss

#20

Post by Swizec »

martin_bech wrote: post #16
KaiserPro wrote: post #6

The main problem with all of this, is that its not a true autopilot. In fact its the worst kind of autopilot. one that bails out at the last minute leaving you fuck all time to take action. telsa's autopilot is level 3, which means freeway driving only: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_car#Classification The thing I fear now is the toxic mix of fanboyism and excessive PR management reminiscent of the worst ex…

The thing I fear now, is fearmongering by people who dont drive Teslas, havent spent time with Autosteer/autopilot and ignore that this was a freak accident, that probably would have killed the driver regardless of using autopilot. This is the future of roadsafety.

Or MAYBE it's time to install safety skirts on trucks just like they do in Europe?

There's no reason why an entire sedan should fit under the trailer of a truck.

This is what a truck designed for safety looks like: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Artic.lo...

Notice how no part of it is higher off the ground than a foot or so. Way too low for a car to fit under.

This is what truck in the US looks like: http://www.center-linecurtains.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/0...

Notice how you could hide a sports car underneath.

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