Summary
The driver of a Tesla car died in Florida in May after colliding with a lorry. In the accident, Tesla driver Joshua Brown died but the driver of the lorry was unhurt. The car was a self-driving car, so US authorities are investigating Tesla’s Autopilot feature, which automatically changes traffic lanes and reacts to traffic. In Tesla’s statement, a reason why the self-driving car was unable to recognize and avoid the lorry is “the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky”. The accident exposure imperfectness in the present system. In addition, according to the news, the overconfidence of the driver on a self-driving system. Mr. Brown posted a video on YouTube which recorded by a dashboard camera. It shows a previous incident that the car steered to avoid a lorry in the next lane, and he wrote about safeness of the system with plenty of confidence. The accident of this time went completely against his over-confidence.
Opinion
I partly agree with diffusion of self-driving cars for two reasons. First, partly installation of a self-driving system can decrease the number of accidents result from carelessness. In Japan, as to the increase in elderly people, the number of collisions increases, too. According to Japanese Government’s Public Relations Office, big two of the cause of the traffic accident of elderly people are carelessness and the control impropriety by the drop of the physical ability and ability for recognition. If the cars with the automatic collision avoidance function spread, such an accident will decrease in a considerable ratio. Second, it is dangerous to completely rely on a program although technology progresses greatly. It is impossible to be perfect since the self-driving system is made by a human hand. Accidents like this may occur, and the unexpected situation for the program cannot be avoided because the car which isn’t automatic runs at the same time. In conclusion, I think that partly introduction of the system assuming the constant driving skill leads to road safety.