Interesting in terms of what this might mean for autonomous vehicles; tesla has been oft criticized for relying on cameras, rather than other systems (e.g. lidar) that can “see” in other conditions.
It also has a link to Arizona as one of the four incidents was a fatality on I-17 in November of 2023. It was described in detail in, of all places, the Hindustan Times (sourced to the AP) article (and not, e.g. in the Arizona Republic?).
Sun glare seems more an excuse than anything else. If “you” (that’s either a person driving or some autonomous system) can’t “see”, you must slow down to avoid colliding with whatever might be in front of you.
In any event here’s the part dealing with the description of the Arizona fatality:
A message was left Friday seeking comment from Tesla, which has
repeatedly said the system cannot drive itself and human drivers must be
ready to intervene at all times.
…Tesla reported the four crashes to NHTSA under an order from the agency
covering all automakers. An agency database says the pedestrian was
killed in Rimrock, Arizona, in November of 2023 after being hit by a
2021 Tesla Model Y. Rimrock is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of
Phoenix.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the
crash happened just after 5 p.m. Nov. 27 on Interstate 17. Two vehicles
collided on the freeway, blocking the left lane. A Toyota 4Runner
stopped, and two people got out to help with traffic control. A red
Tesla Model Y then hit the 4Runner and one of the people who exited from
it. A 71-year-old woman from Mesa, Arizona, was pronounced dead at the
scene.
The collision happened because the sun was in the Tesla driver’s eyes,
so the Tesla driver was not charged, said Raul Garcia, public
information officer for the department. Sun glare also was a
contributing factor in the first collision, he added.
…Critics have said that Tesla’s system, which uses only cameras to spot
hazards, doesn’t have proper sensors to be fully self driving. Nearly
all other companies working on autonomous vehicles use radar and laser
sensors in addition to cameras to see better in the dark or poor
visibility conditions.
Musk has said that humans drive with only eyesight, so cars should be
able to drive with just cameras. He has called lidar (light detection
and ranging), which uses lasers to detect objects, a “fool’s errand.”
The crash is ADOT Incident 4118066, FARS for 2023 is not yet available. The driver of the Tesla was faulted “speed too fast for conditions” which seems correct, notwithstanding Garcia’s comment to the press (he’s made comments before seemingly excusing motorist’s actions)… it’s a violation of the basic speed law (28-701 in Arizona) to run into something in front of you