Here, you take the wheel! (DUCK!)

Dear Readers:

In case ya haven't heard yet, we recorded our first fatality in a Tesla that was on autopilot. (In other words, the car was driving itself!)

BUT, there's a couple of strange facts about the accident.

First of all a transport truck was stopped across the road in front of the car and the radar warning signal went under the transport and between the wheels so the car thought nothing was there! (See yellow area of picture.)

Second, there still wouldn't have been a problem if the guy in the car hadn't been watching a movie on his computer!

(As it was the guy lost his head his head, LITERALLY!)

MEANWHILE:

On Jan. 1, Ontario will become the first province in Canada to allow driver-less cars to be tested on its roads. Transportation Minister Stephen Del Duca said automated cars used to be “something we only saw in the movies,” but now the science is anything but fiction.

By 2040 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers believes 75 per cent of all cars on the road will be automated to some extent. Del Duca said there are already almost 100 companies in Ontario working on technology in this field.

Economic Development minister Brad Duguid said the move is crucial to keep Ontario at the fore of automotive innovation.

“Our choice is to lead this disruption in Ontario or be swept up by it,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to test these vehicles in real-life circumstances,” which puts Ontario “on par or ahead” of competing jurisdictions.

“Our roads are going to be very different 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 40 years from now,” Duguid said. “The change is going to be a lot faster than people thought it would be.”

 

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/ontario-set-to-become-first-province-to-allow-driverless-cars-to-be-tested-on-its-roads