Tesla Sued Over Fatal Crash of Car in Autopilot Mode
Tesla Inc. has been sued by the family of a California man whose Tesla Model X crossover vehicle crashed into a highway barrier last year while the car was operating in semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.
#legal #regulations
Tesla Inc. has been sued by the family of a California man whose Tesla Model X crossover vehicle crashed into a highway barrier last year while the car was operating in semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.
The family of Walter Huang complains that Tesla touted the car as state-of-the-art, even though it lacked automatic emergency braking, which could have softened the crash. The family’s attorney asserts that Tesla has been “beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers.”
Huang’s crash was one of a handful last year in which Tesla cars operating on highways under Autopilot control crashed into stationary vehicles or other objects. Reports at the time speculated that the system may have been confused when the vehicle it was following suddenly changed lanes, revealing a nonmoving object ahead.
The Huang lawsuit also names the California Dept. of Transportation as a defendant. The complaint says DOT failed to repair a crash cushion for the central median divider Huang hit. The cushion had been damaged a week earlier by a previous crash.
RELATED CONTENT
-
GM Develops a New Electrical Platform
GM engineers create a better electrical architecture that can handle the ever-increasing needs of vehicle systems
-
Rage Against the Machine
There have been more than 20 reported attacks against Waymo’s self-driving fleet in Chandler, Ariz., since the company began testing the technology on public roads there two years ago.
-
Toyota Finds a Mystery in Occupant Safety for Self-Driving Vehicles
Toyota Motor Co. says its study of how people in self-driving cars react to a near crash proves it will take far more research to improve the safety of occupants in such vehicles, Automotive News reports.