jetcityimage via Getty Images
jetcityimage via Getty Images

In an accident that occurred while using the semi-automatic driving function Autopilot, the Tesla owner, who is the party concerned, was charged with the first driving negligence fatal crime as an automatic driving user.

This was an accident that occurred in 2019, when the Tesla Model S entered the intersection without stopping at the red light while using Autopilot, collided with the passing Honda Civic, and killed two people on the Civic. Due to an accident. Defendant Kevin George Aziz Riad and his fellow passengers on the Model S were also injured, but there was nothing wrong with their lives. In October 2021, Riad was charged with two fatal accidents in driving a car in this case.

The material submitted at the trial did not mention anything about Autopilot. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has been investigating since the accident, recently found that the Autopilot was switched on.

NHTSA began an investigation into Tesla in August last year after 11 cases of Tesla vehicles using Autopilot crashing into a stopped emergency vehicle and 17 people died. We are also investigating accidents in California that allegedly occurred while using the FSD beta version.

According to AP, this isn't the first criminal prosecution related to self-driving systems, as Uber's test vehicle has previously hit a pedestrian to death, but it's widely available to the general public. This is the first time that he has been prosecuted for an accident caused by using an automated driving system.

NHTSA has released a statement that "every vehicle must always be under the control of a human driver," even if it is a vehicle that is partially equipped with an automated driving system. On a page explaining the Autopilot feature, Tesla expects drivers to "keep their hands on the steering wheel, be ready to take on the drive, and be fully alert to the driver." It is written as.

* Related: There is a possibility that the obstacle was not recognized due to a pedestrian fatal accident due to automatic driving Uber or an incorrect setting. The operator does not look forward

Source: AP News