NTSB: Automated Driving Vehicle Passed School Bus Loading Student Passengers | Hacker News Reader

NTSB: Automated Driving Vehicle Passed School Bus Loading Student Passengers

ntsb.gov

6 pointsAnimats3 comments

"Once stopped, the ADS-equipped vehicle contacted remote assistance with a prompt asking, “is this a school bus with active signals?” After another passenger vehicle passed the school bus in the right eastbound through-lane, a remote assistance agent located in Novi, Michigan, replied “No” to the prompt. The ADS-equipped vehicle then resumed travel and passed the school bus while its stop arms were still extended. A passenger vehicle following the ADS-equipped vehicle similarly passed the school bus. In total, six vehicles passed the school bus while it was stopped. A crash did not occur."

I was originally going to ask how often human drivers did this without getting such a headline, but I guess I should have asked how many other human drivers were passing that exact bus at that exact moment and still be ignored in the headline. The answer: five.

Michigan and Texas law differs on when a vehicle must stop when passing a school bus on the opposite side of a road. The definition of a divided highway differs between the states.

The location, in Google Maps. [1] There's an island with a pedestrian fence down the middle of the highway.

Texas law: An operator on a highway having separate roadways is not required to stop: (1) for a school bus that is on a different roadway; or (2) if on a controlled-access highway, for a school bus that is stopped: (A) in a loading zone that is a part of or adjacent to the highway; and (B) where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

In Texas, the vehicle has to stop for a school bus in that situation.

But the remote assistance operator was in Michigan. Michigan law is different:

Michigan law: (2) Except where a crosswalk or pedestrian walkway is present, the operator of a vehicle on a highway that has been divided into 2 roadways by leaving a raised intervening space, or by a physical barrier, or clearly indicated dividing sections so constructed as to impede vehicular traffic, is not required to stop upon meeting a school bus that has stopped across the raised intervening space, physical barrier, or dividing section.

In Michigan, the vehicle can keep going in that situation.

Now we can see what happened. Automated system detected school bus. Automated system detected an ambiguous situation and asked for remote assistance. Remote assistance operator gives an answer that would be valid under Michigan law. Automated vehicle proceeds.

[1] https://www.google.com/maps/place/E+Oltorf+St+%26+Parker+Ln,...

[2] https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-257-6...

[3] https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._transp._code_section_...

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