San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Autopilot Was Turned on in Fatal Tesla Model X Crash on Highway 101

Last month, an engineer at Apple died after his Tesla Model X crashed into a median on Highway 101. Before the crash, the engineer told family members that the vehicle’s Autopilot system suffered from issues. According to the engineer’s brother, Autopilot had tried to steer the vehicle into the same barrier where the crash occurred on multiple occasions. The engineer reportedly took the Model X to a dealership to determine if anything was wrong with the vehicle. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash. One of the biggest questions about the crash was whether Autopilot was on before the collision. Thanks to Tesla, we now have an answer. Tesla recently announced that Autopilot was on at the time of the crash. NTSB investigators told the Washington Post they were unhappy with Tesla’s decision to release this information. Autopilot Investigated for Other Crashes Autopilot is a feature that…
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Uber Autonomous Vehicle Hits and Kills Pedestrian in Arizona

Autonomous vehicles have been touted as a technological breakthrough that could significantly decrease the number of accidents each year. While this belief may one day come true, a recent pedestrian accident shows that self-driving technology is still far from perfect. Recently, a self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed a 49-year-old woman who was walking her bicycle across the street in Tempe, Arizona. Friends of the deceased woman said she struggled with homelessness and was on the path to putting her life back together. The Volvo XC90 SUV, which was in self-driving mode with an operator sitting in the driver’s seat, was being test driven at 40 miles per hour when it struck the woman. Uber announced it is pulling its test fleet of self-driving cars in light of the accident. The Uber vehicle involved in the accident had exterior and interior cameras. Video footage recorded by these cameras was released…
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New Report Shows Pedestrian Deaths Remain at All-Time High

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has published a new report on fatal pedestrian accidents in the US. According to the new report, pedestrian deaths have increased over the past decade while other types of traffic accidents have decreased. GHSA’s report shows there were 4,699 fatal pedestrian accidents in 2007. Just under 6,000 pedestrians died in 2017, which is roughly the same number of deaths that occurred during 2016. The report also lists several factors that may be responsible for pedestrian deaths each year. According to GHSA, states that legalized marijuana for recreational usage saw a collective 16.4 percent increase in fatal pedestrian accidents. Additional factors identified by GHSA and other organizations include speeding, distracted driving, distracted walking, alcohol usage and more cars on the road. What Can Pedestrians Do to Protect Themselves? It goes without saying that pedestrians are extremely vulnerable when they are walking or riding near motor…
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