Despite a constant push towards a self-driving and autonomous future, the current technology continues to show its limitations. Because truck drivers deserve respect for the difficult work they do, we at Class A Drivers will continue to point to the fact that automation cannot simply replace human drivers.

The most recent example of failed “self-driving” is the recall of almost 363,000 Teslas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving” software and found it severely lacking.

The investigation revealed that the Tesla self-driving software can cause the car to drive through intersections from turn-only lanes, blow past stop signs, and run yellow lights without caution. The NHTSA did comment that this happens in “rare circumstances”, but it was certainly bad enough to pressure Tesla to recall over 350,000 vehicles.

To further show the failure of such technology, Tesla’s own website says that their cars aren’t capable of actual “self-driving”. The human behind the wheel must be ready to correct for errors that the software makes.

Needless to say, autonomous technology is a long ways off. And that’s just for passenger cars. “Full self-driving” for 80,000 pounds of a tractor-trailer would be even more dangerous.

This news comes in at the same time that Tesla’s new Class 8 semi-truck has been spotted on the road.

The Tesla truck was seen with LIDAR technology and multiple autopilot cameras attached. This indicates that the truck is still meant to work with the hazardous “self-driving” technology.

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait for a long investigation before this technology causes major trouble on America’s highways.