The main reason why self-driving cars are not ready for prime time
CBSN
Self-driving cars have been crowned the future of the automotive industry, but in their current form, the software powering those vehicles is stuck in the present.
One significant flaw in the self-driving systems has yet to be worked out, according to experts. When there's potential for an accident, the systems often return control to the human driver without enough time for them to avoid a collision, automotive industry experts told CBS MoneyWatch. In other words, that the software does not know how to react when the unexpected happens, such as animal darting onto the road.
The major flaw came to bear earlier this year when a Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV crashed into a 56-year-old Texas man who was driving a Honda CR-V. The Mach-E had its partially self-driving feature — which Ford calls BlueCruise — activated during the crash, in which the CR-V driver was killed. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it's looking into what role BlueCruise played in causing the Texas accident.
