Driving Safety With Intelligent Vehicles
Intelligent Vehicle Accidents
Unfortunately, intelligent vehicles are not immune to malfunctions. These malfunctions can and have led to accidents in which a passenger has been killed or seriously injured. If a driver trusts the systems too much, it can lead to inaction when a dangerous situation that the driver assumes the vehicle can handle arises. The most common accident causes for intelligent vehicles are:
- Failing to detect a stationary or moving object
- Driver complacency due to an over reliance on Autopilot
- The vehicle fails to properly read signs, lane lines, or other markings, and acts incorrectly based on its view of the markings
Collisions With Stationary Objects and Pedestrians
One of the most common accident types in an intelligent vehicle is a collision with a stationary object, such as an emergency vehicle parked on the side of the road. Pedestrian collisions are less common, but still occur.
Tesla Autopilot Rear-Ends Truck - June 23, 2023
A driver in a Tesla on Autopilot lost control and rear-ended a truck that was providing traffic control on I-76 in Pennsylvania. Nobody was harmed in this accident.
Tesla Autopilot Kills Pedestrian - May 29, 2020
A Tesla on Autopilot struck and killed a truck driver who had exited his vehicle in order to fix the straps on his trailer, which had come loose. This accident occurred on the E18 Northbound highway, just outside of Arendal, Norway.
Uber Prototype Kills Pedestrian - March 18, 2018
A prototype autonomous vehicle operated by Uber struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg, who was crossing Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona. The Uber failed to detect Herzberg as she crossed the highway, and the vehicle's safety officer did not intervene in time to avoid the collision. This accident is notable as it is the first pedestrian death caused by a self driving vehicle ever recorded.
Tesla Autopilot Crashes Into Truck - January 20, 2016
A Tesla on Autopilot crashed into a stationary truck on a multi-lane highway in Handan, Hebei, China. The autopilot failed to apply brakes or to change lanes, and thus crashed into the truck at full speed, killing the driver
Collisions involving Multiple Vehicles
A more uncommon type of collision for intelligent vehicles is the standard multi-vehicle collision, in which 1 or more vehicles were damaged by the intelligent vehicle
Tesla Autopilot T-Bones Civic - December 29, 2019
(Source)
A Tesla on Autopilot exiting the freeway section of SR 91 in Gardena, California blew through a red light at 74 mph and collided with the driver side door of a passing Honda Civic. The driver and passenger of the Civic were both killed in the accident, while the Tesla driver was injured.
Tesla Underrides Semi - March 1, 2019
(Source)
A Tesla on autopilot underrode a semi-truck that failed to yield to the Tesla at a stop sign in Delray Beach, Florida. The autopilot made no evasive action nor made an attempt to slow down before the collision. The Tesla driver was killed instantly.
Tesla Causes Multi-Car Collision - March 23, 2018
(Source)
A Tesla on autopilot collided with a non-operational crash attenuator on Highway 101 at 85 Southbound near Mountain View, California, after the autopilot misread the lane lanes of the nearby gore. The Tesla then bounced into traffic, where it was struck by 2 other vehicles before catching fire. The Tesla driver was killed in the accident.