Oops.
A prospective buyer at a dealership in Saitama Prefecture sustained slight neck injuries, while the dealership employee on the passenger's seat broke his arm.
From Bloomberg News (11/11/2013):
A Mazda Motor Corp. (7261) sport-utility vehicle equipped with an automatic-braking system crashed in Japan on Nov. 10 during a dealership test drive, injuring the driver and front-seat passenger, according to the police.
The Mazda CX-5 was being driven by a prospective buyer on the dealership’s parking lot when it crashed through a urethane barrier set up to demonstrate the SUV’s automatic braking feature, according to the Saitama Prefectural Police, which is investigating the accident. The customer suffered a neck injury while the dealership employee sitting in the front passenger seat fractured his arm, the police said.
A Mazda Motor Corp. (7261) sport-utility vehicle equipped with an automatic-braking system crashed in Japan on Nov. 10 during a dealership test drive, injuring the driver and front-seat passenger, according to the police.
The Mazda CX-5 was being driven by a prospective buyer on the dealership’s parking lot when it crashed through a urethane barrier set up to demonstrate the SUV’s automatic braking feature, according to the Saitama Prefectural Police, which is investigating the accident. The customer suffered a neck injury while the dealership employee sitting in the front passenger seat fractured his arm, the police said.
(Full article at the link)
More crash details from Yomiuri:
車は約７メートル離れた場所から発進したが、マットにぶつかった後、約６・６メートル先のフェンスに衝突した
The car started from about 7 meters away [from the urethane mat]. After hitting the urethane mat, the car collided with the fence about 6.6 meters away.
Needless to say, the car was supposed to detect the mat and stop.
Automatic braking and automatic (self) driving are touted as the next huge things for the auto industry.
(I'd rather drive a stick-shift pickup truck from 1980s and will make sure I don't go anywhere near the newer-looking Japanese automobiles...)
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6 comments:
I'd avoid newer automobiles in general, not just Japanese ones.
The urethane foam is pretty radar transparent. Usually reflectors get added to ensure a good return. Maybe some got displaced or removed.
The larger point, that more complex cars enjoy unexpected new failure modes, is bang on the money. Given the average car in the US is kept running for over 15 years, we will be seeing lots of illustrations of that fact.
Better to go by bus, it is safer.
Nothing is built to last anymore.
Worse than cars that don't brake, there are cars that sometimes both press on the gas pedal AND don't brake…
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319966&elq=96e4b75b596c44ee95bb95f7c6767b5d
Apparently, someone had the brilliant idea to control both acceleration and braking in the same computer program…
I also feel safer with a direct mechanical link with the brakes - and a key that physically cuts the ignition circuitry!
In a hybrid car you need to control regeneration and braking with the same pedal -- could this be the problem?
BTW, some people say that, considering the energy spent on manufacturing the batteries, a Prius is about as efficient as a regular car. I wonder whether this is the case.
Besides, the last time I did the math, I could break even the extra cost of a hybrid version in 20 yrs (my car travels 5000 km/yr). Hmm.
Beppe
I assume everyone here has heard about how recent cars can be hacked?
All the more reason to avoid them.
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