今天有消息说，一名特斯拉司机在5月初驾驶他的s型车时自动驾驶仪启动而被撞死，这将不可避免地引发一系列棘手的问题——其中许多问题已经提出——关于半自动驾驶功能是否已经为黄金时间做好了准备，以及汽车**商是否应该把安全关键的“测试版”软件放到真正的客户手中。就这点而言，“beta”在这种情况下是什么意思？自动驾驶汽车会不会完全不能撞车(不太可能，但如果是的话，还需要几十年的时间，而且可能需要人类司机停止驾驶。）

但许多人会很快提醒，特斯拉的自动驾驶仪并不是一个完全自动驾驶系统无论如何-它通常被认为是国家公路交通安全管理局的0-4级的自治级别2。在2级车上，驾驶员仍有很多责任，这一点在车型的车主手册中印上了一系列异常冗长的警告：

Warning: Do not depend on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to adequately and appropriately slow down Model S. Always watch the road in front of you and stay prepared to brake at all times. Traffic-Aware Cruise Control does not eliminate the need to apply the brakes as needed, even at slow speeds.

Warning: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control can not detect all objects and may not detect a stationary vehicle or other object in the lane of travel. There may be situati*** in which Traffic-Aware Cruise Control does not detect a vehicle, bicycle, or pedestrian. Depending on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to avoid a collision can result in serious injury or death.

Warning: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may react to vehicles or objects that either do not exist or are not in the lane of travel, causing Model S to slow down unnecessarily or inappropriately.

Warning: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may misjudge the distance from a vehicle ahead. Always watch the road in front of you. It is the driver's resp***ibility to maintain a safe distance from a vehicle ahead of you.

Warning: When you enable Traffic-Aware Cruise Control in a situation where you are closely following the vehicle in front of you, Model S may apply the brakes to maintain the selected distance.

Warning: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control has limited deceleration ability and may be unable to apply enough braking to avoid a collision if a vehicle in front slows suddenly, or if a vehicle enters your driving lane in front of you. Never depend on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to slow down the vehicle enough to prevent a collision. Always keep your eyes on the road when driving and be prepared to take corrective action as needed. Depending on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to slow the vehicle down enough to prevent a collision can result in serious injury or death.

Warning: Driving downhill can increase driving speed, causing Model S to exceed your set speed. Hills can also make it more difficult for Model S to slow down enough to maintain the chosen following distance from the vehicle ahead.

Warning: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may occasionally brake Model S when not required based on the distance from a vehicle ahead. This can be caused by vehicles in adjacent lanes (especially on curves), or by stationary objects.

其中一些警告直接适用于驾驶员在这次车祸中明显面临的情况。”可能存在交通感知巡航控制无法检测到车辆、自行车或行人的情况。它写道：“依靠交通感知巡航控制来避免碰撞可能会导致严重伤亡。”。特斯拉说，在这起事件中，自动驾驶仪没有看到“在明亮的天空下拖车白色的一面”，司机也没有看到。

随后，手册中的更多警告警告警告说，“明亮的灯光”可能会导致问题，“交通感知巡航控制可能不会减速，或者可能不适当地制动或加速S型车”：

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is particularly unlikely to operate as intended in the following types of situati***:

• The road has sharp curves.
• Visibility is poor (due to heavy rain, snow, fog, etc.).
• Bright light (oncoming headlights or direct sunlight) is interfering with the camera's view.
• The radar sensor in the center of the front grill is obstructed (dirty, covered, etc.).
• The windshield area in the camera's field of view is obstructed (fogged over, dirty, covered by a sticker, etc.).

Caution: If your Model S is equipped with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, you must take your vehicle to Tesla Service if a windshield replacement is needed. Failure to do so can cause Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to malfunction.

Warning: Many unforeseen circumstances can impair the operation of Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. Always keep this in mind and remember that as a result, Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may not slow down or may brake or accelerate Model S inappropriately. Always drive attentively and be prepared to take immediate action.

Warning: Traffic-aware cruise control may not brake/decelerate for stationary vehicles, especially in situati*** when you are driving over 50 mph (80 km/h) and a vehicle you are following moves out of your driving path and a stationary vehicle or object is in front of you instead. Always pay attention to the road ahead and stay prepared to take immediate corrective action. Depending on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to avoid a collision can result in serious injury or death.

同样，其中许多似乎适用于即将发生的车祸。当然，问题在于，这些只是车主手册中的文字——有时，驾驶员会不听，或者根本就不会阅读车主手册。即使是车内用户界面中的提示，比如特斯拉用来告诉司机注意的提示，也很容易被忽略和绕过。

特斯拉说，自动驾驶仪驾驶车主的汽车行驶了1.3亿英里，现在只有一人死亡；相比之下，美国平均每9400万英里就有一辆汽车死亡。所以是的，从统计上看，它比平均水平要好，但是有一个期望——不管公平与不公平——计算机可以而且应该是完美的。每一个事件都将被详细审查(回想一下谷歌的第一次事故，事故只造成了轻微的损失，没有人员伤亡。）

问题不在于这些警告是否公平；总的来说，它们是完全合理的。问题是特斯拉和其他汽车行业是否会找到一种方法，将这些警告作废。