
Tesla auto-braking saves two families from falling tree - grandpoobah
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8012215/Tesla-Model-X-automatic-brakes-stopped-two-families-crushed-tree-Storm-Dennis.html
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grandpoobah
As I understood it, self driving cars are designed to ignore objects when
traveling at speed, because there is a risk a car could slam on the brakes for
a plastic bag floating in the wind? Can somebody smart explain what happened
here?

And is Elon's "Glad you're all ok" a way of accepting credit where credit is
not really due?

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Someone
I would guess these objects were too large for that heuristic (which, if given
100% control, is fairly bad, by the way. A plastic bag is quite different,
safety-wise, from a plastic bag containing 100kgs of concrete).

It makes sense to put a size limit on that heuristic. If a 3M meter plastic
bag were to blow onto your windshield, braking is in order.

