特斯拉自動駕駛再惹爭議

The driver of a Tesla Motors car, which hit another vehicle in China while using the Autopilot function, has accused the company of overselling the capabilities of the technology.

駕駛特斯拉汽車(Tesla Motors)所產車輛的一名司機，指控該公司對其自動駕駛(Autopilot)技術的能力宣傳過度。這名司機在中國使用自動駕駛功能的時候撞上了另一輛車。

Lou Zhen was unharmed when his Tesla Model S collided with an illegally parked Volkswagen car on a motorway in Beijing last week. In a post online, the 33-year-old programmer admitted he was not paying attention and did not have his hands on the wheel — something that Tesla instructs its drivers to do when using the driverless mode.

這位名叫婁震（Lou Zhen，音譯）的司機在事故中並未受傷。上週，他駕駛的特斯拉S型(Tesla Model S)在北京一條快車道上，撞上了非法停靠的一輛大衆(Volkswagen)汽車。在一個網帖中，這位33歲的程序員承認他並未注意道路狀況，也沒有把手放在方向盤上——這是特斯拉指示其駕駛員在使用無人駕駛模式時應該採取的做法。

But Mr Lou also claimed that consumers were not told of the limitations of the technology “when buying the car”.

不過，婁先生也聲稱，消費者“在買車時”並未被告知這種技術的侷限。

The case will ignite further debate around the company’s promotion of its driverless technology, which has come under scrutiny following a fatal crash in Florida this year.

這起個案將引燃圍繞特斯拉對其無人駕駛技術推介的進一步辯論。在今年佛羅里達州發生一起致命事故之後，這種技術受到嚴密關注。

In most countries, Tesla promotes its driver assistance as Autopilot, a similar term used in aircraft when they fly themselves. In reality, the technology tracks other vehicles on the road and monitors lane lines, taking control of steering and braking.

在多數國家，特斯拉都將其駕駛助理推銷爲自動駕駛，這個詞本來用於描述飛機的自動飛行狀態。在現實中，該技術會跟蹤路上的其他車輛並監視各車道，控制方向盤和剎車。

Drivers are told to have their hands on the wheel and to be able to take control at any time. In China, Tesla markets the technology as zidong jiashi, a term most commonly translated as Autopilot.

司機們被告知，要把手放在方向盤上，以便隨時接手控制。在中國，特斯拉將這項技術作爲“自動駕駛”來進行推廣，這是Autopilot最常見的翻譯。

While it may be weaker than the Chinese term for self-driving, which is wuren jiashi, there is room for misunderstanding among Chinese consumers, according to Zhong Shi, an independent automotive analyst in Beijing. “China’s way of referring to these technologies is a big problem. Though a similar risk exists for the term Autopilot in the west, Chinese consumers are less likely to read the instruction manual,” he said.

北京的獨立汽車分析師鍾師表示，儘管“自動駕駛”聽起來可能比“無人駕駛”弱一些，但中國消費者仍有可能產生誤解。“中國表述這些技術的方式是一個大問題。雖然Autopilot這個詞在西方也存在類似的風險，但中國消費者閱讀說明書的可能性更低，”他說。

Tesla maintains that it makes clear to all Tesla owners that the Autopilot technologies are not fully developed and that the driver has to be ready to retake control at all times. Elon Musk, Tesla’s founder and chief executive, has also defended the technology, saying it leads to safer roads and fewer deaths.

特斯拉堅稱，它明確對所有特斯拉車主表明，Autopilot技術還不完全成熟，司機必須隨時準備重新控制汽車。特斯拉創始人和首席執行官埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)也爲這項技術辯護，稱該技術讓道路更加安全，減少了致死事故。