Tesla, Uber Deaths Raise Questions About the Perils of Partly Autonomous Driving

Two recent fatal crashes of cars with varying levels of autonomous-driving technology are focusing attention on vehicles that vest control in both humans and machines.
U.S. investigators are still completing their probes of an Uber Technologies Inc. self-driving vehicle with a safety-operator behind the wheel that hit and killed a pedestrian March 18 in Tempe, Ariz., and of a Tesla Inc. Model X sport-utility with its semiautonomous system engaged that collided with a highway barrier on March 23 near Mountain View, Calif., fatally injuring its driver.
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But both incidents have a troubling link, autonomous-vehicle specialists say: a human was at the wheel and could have taken control.
“This is what I’ve called the mushy middle of automation,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina assistant professor of law and specialist on autonomous cars, referring to vehicles with some automation but still a driver at the wheel. “There will certainly be more incidents,” he said. “It’s dangerous when people feel safer than they actually are.”
Auto makers are gradually rolling out partially automated systems that pass control back and forth between vehicle and driver. General Motors Co., Volkswagen AG’s Audi brand, and others have or plan to introduce systems that allow the driver to cede control of the car in certain situations, only to resume command at a moment’s notice.
Such automation could make driving safer. But some autonomous-vehicle experts and safety advocates worry that as long as the effort is a combination of human and machine, the robot assistance could also give drivers a false sense of confidence to turn their attention elsewhere.
Others, such as GM, say driver monitoring ensures a driver remains engaged, while Tesla has developed a series of alerts aimed at keeping hands on the wheel and emphasizes in its manuals that drivers need to remain alert and responsible for driving.
Courtesy: Wall Street