Summary: A number of years ago, several manufacturers began talking about the development of driverless cars, or what we now know as autonomous vehicles. Many projections were made as to when autonomous vehicles would be available to the public, how safe the vehicles would be, how they would significantly reduce auto accidents and fatalities, and other benefits. While there were predictions of fully autonomous vehicles being available by 2020, that has not occurred and it appears that fully autonomous vehicles are still a long way off.

Tesla's Autopilot

The road to autonomous driving is proving hazardous, and Tesla vehicles are often involved. There have been two accidents involving Tesla vehicles striking tractor-trailers crossing the road with one involving the vehicle hitting a concrete barrier; all resulted in fatalities. Neither the driver nor the Autopilot feature noticed or reacted in time to the hazard in the way.

Since 2018 there have been eleven accidents with the vehicles in Autopilot mode involved in accidents with emergency vehicles and the Tesla struck one or more of the vehicles at the scene. A total of seventeen people have been injured; in one accident the driver died. The Tesla vehicle was behind another car when that car changed lanes; when it did so, the Tesla struck a stopped emergency vehicle. In each of these accidents, the vehicle was in Autopilot mode or traffic-aware cruise control, and the scenes involved control measures such as first responder lights, road cones and an illuminated arrow board, things these vehicle features should have been able to notice and respond to.