IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Tesla Autopilot Crash Shows Limits for Now

Autopilot in a Tesla does not mean autonomous.

This story highlights how far some companies have come with making their cars safer to drive, yet not totally autonomous to the point where drivers don't have to pay attention to road conditions and a wide variety of situations that may present themselves. See Limits Of Tesla's Autopilot And Driver Error Cited In Fatal Model S Crash.

While I'd love to have a Tesla, if I could afford one, it is not the autonomous vehicle of the future that we'll pre-program for destinations and then sit back and read email, watch a movie, put on make-up, etc.

I am confident that car companies will be rapidly solving the thorny issues of self-driving cars. The challenge is going to be having government standards that assist auto manufacturers and bring some certainty to the manufacturing and technology fielding process. With cars crossing local, state and sometimes international boundaries, it will require a level of cooperation and federal leadership to make the reality of safer cars come to pass sooner rather than later. 

Eliminating the driver is the ultimate goal!

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
Sign up for GovTech Today

Delivered daily to your inbox to stay on top of the latest state & local government technology trends.