The first automobile driver fatality while using the autonomous feature on a car, a Tesla, has happened…

Driver Killed While Using Tesla’s “Autopilot” feature

I don’t mean to sound cold, especially with regard to the individual who lost their life in this accident, but the statistics regarding car accidents and deaths are these:  In an average year there are 30,000+ fatalities in auto accidents and another 2.2 million injured.

The fact that we’re several years into “self-driving” vehicle experimentation (I use this term because though the Tesla cars can engage in autonomous driving, there are clear warnings to do so only as an aid and to keep one’s hands on the wheel and attention on the road), this is the very first fatality to occur while a car was in a self-driving mode.

Here’s the description of the accident, as reported in the article linked to above:

“What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S,” Tesla wrote. “Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.”

Again, its tragic that anyone should lose their life in a car accident, regardless of the why or how.  Based on the description above, it would appear this accident might have occurred even if the driver was at the wheel and the self-driving mechanism was not engaged.

I suspect “real world” cases like this, tragic though they are, will only lead to improvements in the self-driving systems.