Autopilot scrutinized in Tesla crash
Investigators want to know why car didn’t slow down
Investigators asking why car didn’t slow down.
“What’s actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60mph and the driver only broke (a bone). An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death.” Elon Musk Tesla CEO, in a tweet
SAN FRANCISCO – A Utah woman whose Tesla Model S slammed into a stopped fire truck Friday at highway speeds astoundingly walked away with only a broken foot.
But the ongoing police inquiry is focused on why the accident happened in the first place.
The driver of the vehicle, a 28-yearold from Lehi, Utah, told police in South Jordan, just outside Salt Lake City, that her car was in Autopilot mode and she was distracted. If that was the case, questions arise about why the system did not detect the truck and automatically slow the vehicle down.
Tesla says it is going through the car’s data banks to determine what systems were engaged. Autopilot, a suite of driver-assist features that has been the focus of past Tesla crash investigations, requires driver oversight, Tesla says. This includes the car’s Automatic Emergency Braking feature.
“Several factors can affect the performance of Automatic Emergency Braking, causing either no braking or inappropriate or untimely braking,” Tesla’s customer literature states. “It is the driver’s responsibility to drive safely and remain in control of the vehicle at all times. Never depend on Automatic Emergency Braking to avoid or reduce the impact of a collision.”
The woman also told police she was looking at her phone before the crash and estimated her speed at 60 mph, which is consistent with eyewitness accounts, according to a police statement.
The driver of the United Fire Authority mechanic truck was evaluated for whiplash and was not checked into a hospital.
South Jordan police were continuing to investigate the crash and would be working with Tesla to gather vehicle information from the Model S’ computers over the coming days. Police officials also said they were getting technical assistance from National Transportation Safety Board officials.
Eyewitness accounts indicate the Model S did not slow down or swerve as it rammed into the back of the truck, which was stopped at a traffic light in the far right lane.
Autopilot has been in the crosshairs of federal crash investigators, dating to a 2016 crash in Florida of a Tesla Model S in Autopilot mode that killed its driver after the car failed to stop for a tractortrailer that cut across its path.
More recently, the NTSB was called in to review details of a March crash in which a Tesla Model X slammed into a highway divider in Mountain View, Calif. The driver died.
Tesla has said the California driver ignored the car’s warnings to take back control of the vehicle. But the driver’s family is considering suing on the grounds that Tesla ignored the driver’s previously raised concerns about Autopilot acting up on that same stretch of Silicon Valley highway.
NTSB and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials also are investigating a recent Tesla Model S crash in Florida in which two teens died and one was injured. The car hit a concrete barrier at high speed in a residential neighborhood and burst into flames. Autopilot is not thought to be a factor, but investigators are looking into the ensuing battery fire.
Just before the Utah police announced that the driver indicated Autopilot had been in use, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a series of tweets that emphasized the safety of his product.
“What’s actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60mph and the driver only broke an ankle,” Musk tweeted (although initially reported as an ankle injury, South Jordan officials said the injury was a broken foot). “An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death.”