Self-driving car kills 71-year-old man in US

In a tragic incident on an interstate highway in California, a self-driving car struck and killed a 71-year-old man while he was crossing the road. The accident took place early Thursday morning near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 780 in Vallejo, California. The self-driving vehicle was traveling at a high speed of around 70 miles per hour when the pedestrian entered the freeway from the shoulder and began crossing towards the central divider.

The driver, a 26-year-old man from San Francisco, admitted that the car was operating in Full Self-Driving mode at the time of the collision. According to the California Highway Patrol, preliminary analysis of the vehicle’s dashboard camera footage revealed that the self-driving car made efforts to avoid the pedestrian before ultimately striking him.

The dashboard footage showed the vehicle applying its brakes and steering to the left in an attempt to evade the pedestrian, but despite these evasive maneuvers, the front right portion of the self-driving car hit the individual.

Interestingly, the man was struck by another vehicle as well while laying on the freeway following the initial impact. However, the other motorists involved in this secondary collision did not stop at the scene, leaving their identities unknown. The 26-year-old driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, providing the dashboard camera footage to authorities.

The California Highway Patrol is currently investigating the incident and has appealed to witnesses and anyone with information about the other vehicles involved to come forward with details.

This incident has reignited concerns about the safety of driver-assistance technology following a similar crash earlier this month on Interstate 80. In that incident, a driver fell asleep while using Full Self-Driving mode, leading to a collision with a highway patrol vehicle and injuring two officers. The California Highway Patrol has warned drivers against relying on the technology as a replacement for attentive driving, emphasizing that despite the name, FSD (Full Self-Driving) is not fully autonomous driving.

The agency reiterated that even with the use of the technology, the driver remains responsible for safely operating the vehicle.