Self-Driving Car Collides with Truck Trailer
Federal investigators found on Tuesday, July 26 that a Tesla Motors car that crashed in Florida was in self-driving mode and speeding at the time of the car accident, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Officials from the National Transit Safety Board are investigating the crash. The car collided with a tractor trailer in Williston, Florida, near Gainesville, on May 7. The tractor-trailer turned in front of the Tesla, which continued driving straight, so that the bottom edge of the 53-foot trailer sheared the roof from the Tesla as it traveled beneath the trailer and came out the other side. The driver was 40-year-old Joshua Brown from Canton, Ohio. According to The Guardian, the driver of the truck reported that Brown was watching Harry Potter on a DVD player in the vehicle, and that the movie was still playing after Brown’s car struck a telephone pole a quarter of a mile past the location of the tractor trailer collision.
Tesla Confused Tractor Trailer for a Clear Spring Day
The Tesla comes equipped with a self-driving system that automates highway driving. This equipment can control speed and lane changes using computer vision technology.
The automated driving system can negotiate slow traffic without driver input, and even avoid obstacles like highway wrecks. Although some Tesla owners have posted videos to YouTube in which they drive the car with their hands off the wheel, Tesla has discouraged the practice. Tesla founder Elon Musk says that this is the first self-driving accident for the Tesla, which means the technology has a lower accident rate than the average American driver. The company believes that the self-driving system was unable to distinguish between a bright spring sky and the white trailer on the truck, which prevented the system from attempting to stop automatically.
Law on Self-Driving Cars is Unsettled
Right now, there are no regulations in place to determine the standard behavior of fully autonomous driving systems. Because the technology is new, there is no specific law about how drivers should use the systems, either. However, drivers in Georgia must exercise reasonable caution when driving to prevent injury to others on the road. In the past, courts have placed the responsibility for turning off features like cruise control and taking direct control of the vehicle on the driver. If those features malfunction, though, the responsibility may be on the manufacturer of the vehicle.
Drivers May Be Liable for Accidents Despite Self-Driving Technology
Now that self-driving cars are on the highway, we’ll likely see more and more accidents that involve their use, and more lawsuits to determine who should bear the financial burden of those accidents. In an accident like the one in Florida, it seems that multiple problems lead to the collision. The company admits that the technology malfunctioned. But if the company warns drivers to remain alert and not to take their hands off the wheel while the self-driving system is active, they may avoid product liability in situations like this one. The driver also seems to have been distracted from the road, and may not have been watching when the truck turned in front of him. If he had injured someone and this kind of distraction had lead to the accident, he would be liable for negligence and have to pay damages.
Get Legal Help
If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, you need legal help. Contact an auto accident attorney at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today to get the compensation you deserve.
