Tesla Sued by Family of Biker Killed by Autopilot
Tesla is being sued by the family of a biker who was killed when he was rear ended by a Tesla Model 3 whose driver was using Autopilot mode. The lawsuit was filed in Salt Lake City, USA.
The family of Landon Embry are suing the company on the grounds that the driver assistant software and other safety features were not fully functioning. As such, the car which was travelling between 120 – 128 km/h, rammed in Embry’s Harley-Davidson.
Embry, 34, was thrown off his motorcycle and died at the scene.
The driver of the Model 3 involved was deemed to be “tired and not in a condition to drive as an ordinarily prudent driver” in the lawsuit. The family’s complaint said: “A reasonably prudent driver, or adequate auto braking system, would have, and could have slowed or stopped without colliding with the motorcycle.”
This was not the first time that a Tesla was involved in crashing and causing harm to either the driver or another party while on Autopilot. In fact, Tesla had just settled another lawsuit after being sued by the family of a Model X owner who was killed when his car crashed into a median, whilst on Autopilot.
Many quarters including the US National Highway Transport Safety Agency (NHTSA), have called out Tesla’s Autopilot program, citing that it is not fully “auto” and still requires inputs from the driver. However, it seems that some drivers have taken the term to literally mean that they can lay back and take their hands off the steering wheel and feet off the pedals. Hey, even an aircraft’s sophisticated autopilot requires the pilots to monitor other systems of the aircraft and make decisions.
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