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Tesla Robotaxis Are Crashing More Than 12 Times as Frequently as Human Drivers
(www.commondreams.org)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
This is a relatively unique Texas law that requires cars to stop when school buses are loading or unloading passengers, including on the opposite side of the road going the other direction. The self driving companies didn't program for that special use case, so it actually is a relatively easy fix in software.
And the human drivers who move to Texas often get tripped up by this law, because many aren't aware of the requirement.
It isn't a unique Texas Law. It's law everywhere in the US and Canada.
"mostly all in North America, require all surrounding vehicles to stop when a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_bus_traffic_stop_laws
Only if you are from a different country.
Which is beside the point that if anyone else drove through 20 bus stops, they couldn't use the excuse, "I'm from another country so I don't know your laws." to get out of jail.
That it's a software fix is also beside the point. "Oh I drove illegally 20 times. I know better and won't do it again."
The default in most other states is that opposite direction traffic on a divided highway don't have to stop. The states differ in what constitutes a divided highway, but generally at least 5 feet of space or a physical barrier between the lanes would qualify. In Texas, however, there is no exception for divided highways, and the key definition is "controlled-access highway," which requires on/off ramps and physical barriers between traffic directions, or "different roadways,"
So for a 5-lane road where there are 2 lanes going in each direction with a center lane for left turns, Texas requires opposite direction traffic to stop, while most other states do not.
Yeah, a lot of school bus stops on five lane highways… /s
2 lanes in each direction with a middle lane? That's a big chunk of Texas, especially when weighted for population.
My commute to work includes a main city road with two lanes each way and a turning lane, and sometimes there is a school bus that stops.
The incidents had nothing to do with divided highways. You can see the video is at residential streets.
https://youtu.be/vhxInHCtYGw
It’s not just Texas. It’s a requirement to stop for a school bus with its flashing lights on and stop sign out pretty much everywhere in the US.