Parked Vehicles

For a long time I said, about self-driving cars, that safety wasn't really the issue because, almost tautologically, if they work they'll be safe. I didn't bargain on Elon Musk.

“It’s not unique to Tesla,” said David Zuby, chief research officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which has studied how automated driver-assist systems perform. “We’ve seen evidence in our test driving of other systems with this kind of problem.”

The radars and cameras used to sense obstructions ahead each have their limitations and computer software that evaluates the data is still a work in progress, according to the experts and advocates. In many cases, they are better at tracking moving vehicles ahead than recognizing parked ones.

It isn't unique to Tesla, but Tesla is unique in overselling its products to consumers who want to believe.