We recently published a blog discussing a fatal car accident involving a Tesla Model S that had been using Autopilot at the time of the crash. The crash raised many questions about the safety of self-driving technology as it presently exists. According to Tesla, the accident happened because neither its Autopilot nor the driver noticed a large semi-truck turning left in front of the vehicle. The truck driver involved in the accident claims he heard a Harry Potter movie playing on the deceased Model S driver’s phone.

This crash shows two weaknesses in self-driving technology as it exists today. We human beings may become inattentive when self-driving systems fail. In some cases, human drivers may be unable to react in time to avoid collisions with other vehicles or objects.

In addition, plenty of us have bad habits and could place too much faith in this technology. People who are reading the newspaper, playing Pokémon Go or taking their attention off the road while using technologies like Autopilot are endangering their safety.

This point was recently touched upon by Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at a San Francisco conference. Foxx said that he wants government regulators and the auto industry to continue testing self-driving vehicles before people entrust their lives to this technology.

The Good News? Self-Driving Cars Are Not Necessarily Dangerous

For those of us who cannot wait to one day be able to play Candy Crush or Xbox while driving, future vehicles will be completely autonomous.

A recent article in the New York Times explained the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) classification system for self-driving vehicles. Under NHTSA’s classification system, Tesla’s Model is classified as a Level 2 vehicle, while Google’s vehicles would be classified as Level 4 (if released tomorrow).

Just in case you were curious, Level 3 vehicles can operate on highways or under specific circumstances, but require human beings to be available for occasional situations. Level 4 vehicles are capable of complete automation, meaning distracted driving, ‘in theory’, would not be a factor! NHTSA recently stated that the Tesla Model S crash should not inhibit the development of self-driving cars.