Who is to blame for Tesla car crash in Minnesota?

A 58-year-old driver of a Tesla car was involved in a car crash in Minnesota on the 17^th July 2017. The high tech vehicle, produced by Elon Musk’s Tesla car company, is installed with ‘self-driving’ technology that’s designed to assist drivers in their journeys with automatic driving capabilities.

However, they’ve come under huge scrutiny after a number of incidents have led to crashes that have fuelled calls that the technology just isn’t ready yet; and certainly isn’t safe.

In this incident, police authorities reported that the driver had “engaged the self-driving mode” when it “suddenly accelerated, causing the car to leave the road and overturn”.

So, was this human error or technological error?

The vehicle reportedly rolled over into a marsh. The driver and his four adult passengers thankfully only sustained minor injuries.

When information of the incident hit the news, it reinforced public fears that we are simply not ready for self-driving cars. Investor’s faith in the company took a dip too as share values reportedly fell by 3.11%, down to $317.66.

However, the driver himself spoke out about the incident and suggested that the auto-pilot mode was not engaged at the time of the accident. In an email to a sheriff, he confirmed:

“to the best of my recollection I had engaged the autopilot system but then I had disengaged it by stepping on the accelerator.”

So, by the driver’s own confession, it seems to be a human error and not a technological error…

Tesla reassures the world

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the email in hopes to reassure the public.

He is now reportedly looking into the incident and strategising in how to minimise fears and doubts over his creation. In the summer, Musk noted that “expectations sometimes get out of control”.

The company’s greatest concern in terms of expectations at the moment is the meaning of the phrases “self-driving” and “auto-pilot”. The public are expecting these vehicles to be completely capable of driving themselves, and whilst Musk is working towards “total autonomy”, Tesla, by their own admission, is not quite there yet.

What the vehicles are capable of include: maintaining a set speed; slowing down; braking in traffic; and keeping a car inside its lane. If the driver takes their hands off the wheel and ignores three separate warnings to put them back on the wheel, the system is designed to turn itself off.

Driver’s full attention still required

For now, popular models like the Tesla Model S still require the driver’s full attention. David Clark, the driver of the crashed Tesla car, understands driver responsibilities and doesn’t blame the vehicle for the crash. He said:

“I did not intend to put the blame on Tesla or the auto-pilot system as I am aware that I need to be in control of the vehicle regardless if the auto-pilot system is engaged or not.”

Drivers are regularly instructed during driving and in their vehicle manuals to “remain engaged and to be prepared to take immediate action at all times, and drivers must acknowledge their responsibility to do so before Autopilot is enabled”.

Last year in May, one Tesla driver was killed when his Model S failed to spot a truck before colliding with it. On the one hand, the vehicle’s technology was blamed for not distinguishing the truck from the brightly lit sky, yet on the other, the driver reportedly had sufficient time to identify the risk and react accordingly.

In all incidents reported so far, some sort of human fault has apparently been involved.

Regulators have been heavily involved in investigating these incidents but have so far found no definitive proof that the technology is entirely to blame, and appear satisfied that the cars do not need to be recalled.