Last week near Orlando, a Tesla Model 3, allegedly controlled by Autopilot, collided with an emergency vehicle, specifically a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser.

No one was hurt, but stories of this sort highlight the flaws inherent in current autonomous vehicle software, be it Autopilot or whatever. And that is precisely why we are told to always have an attentive driver at the wheel.

According to CNN, the incident occurred on Interstate 4 just before 5 a.m. ET. An Orange County police officer had stopped to assist a broken down car when the Tesla model struck the side of the patrol car, which in turn struck the broken down Mercedes. The police car had its emergency lights flashing at the time.

The drivers of the Tesla and Mercedes sustained minor injuries, but no one was seriously injured. The Tesla driver also confirmed to police officers on the scene that the car was in Autopilot mode at the time of the accident.

Florida State Police said the accident will be reported to Tesla and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

NHTSA claims that between January 2018 and July 2021, the Tesla collided at least 11 times with emergency vehicles, including police cars and ambulances. The accidents occurred in nine different states, and most appear to have occurred at night.

Additionally, according to NHTSA, the scene utilized emergency vehicle lights, flares, illuminated arrow boards, and road cones prior to each accident.

In this instance, it is not clear whether the driver was abusing the autopilot. However, it is another warning that drivers should not put too much trust in Autopilot and other semi-autonomous driver assistance technologies. While the car may appear to be able to drive itself, it is not effective enough to completely replace the driver.

Tesla itself has stated that Autopilot can "do the wrong thing at the worst possible time. If the driver is not paying attention, or worse, actually gets out of the driver's seat, the car is essentially left to its own devices when serious situations arise.

Semi-autonomous driver assistance technologies can be a great help, especially on long trips, but they are no substitute for actually driving. Even if words like "autopilot" and "fully automated driving" make it sound like the car will do everything for you.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has always defended the name Autopilot, claiming that it is based on airplane autopilot, which was created to assist attentive pilots. But that hasn't stopped this automaker from struggling.

A German court ruled that the name Autopilot was misleading, alongside marketing that suggested Tesla could drive itself. Similarly, the NHTSA asked the FTC to investigate Tesla's use of the name Autopilot as a form of false advertising, but the FTC's response was not clear.

Tesla also needs to do more to ensure that people cannot get out of the driver's seat while Autopilot is operating. Currently, the system uses sensors on the steering wheel to check for the presence of the driver's hands and release the seatbelt if it is unbuckled.

However, tests have shown that these safety measures are frighteningly easy to circumvent. Steering wheel weights can mimic the presence of hands, and the driver could theoretically be free to leave the driver's seat by sitting on the seatbelt.

This is not a problem limited to Tesla; other tests have shown that autonomous driving safety measures can be faked just as easily. And the biggest problem these systems have in common is that there are no weight sensors in the driver's seat to check if someone is actually there.

Clearly something needs to be done across the board to prevent this from happening. Keeping someone in the driver's seat won't stop them from getting distracted or taking their eyes off the road, but it would be a good start. In the meantime, remember that your 'autonomous' car is not. It will take at least a few years, but you still have a long way to go before your car will be driving you around without the need for supervision.