Tesla car crash in California kills driver while running on autopilot

A Tesla vehicle driving in autopilot mode crashed into a roadside barrier and caught fire in a test carried out in California – according to a report by the BBC.
April 3, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The driver of the Model X car died soon after the incident which occurred on the 23 March 2018.

In a statement, the company confirmed that autopilot was engaged with the adaptive cruise control follow-distance set to minimum. Several visual and one audible hands-on warning were sent to the driver whose hands were not detected on the steering wheel six seconds prior to the collision.

“The driver had about five seconds and 150 metres of unobstructed view of the concrete divider with the crushed crash attenuator, but the vehicle logs show that no action was taken,” the statement added.

The severity of the crash is believed to have been the result of the crash attenuator’s state at the time of the accident. The highway safety barrier, which aims to reduce the impact into a concrete lane divider, had not been replaced since being crushed in a previous accident.

Tesla’s autopilot system is said to carry out some of the functions of a fully autonomous machine such as braking, accelerating and steering under certain conditions, but operates as a driver assistance system. The company highlighted that it is not intended to work independently and that motorists are required to have their hands on the wheel at all times.

 

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Webinar: BigDataEurope for Transport
    September 10, 2015
    The first BigDataEurope at 1000 CET on 21 September will look at the societal challenge of Smart, Green and Integrated Transport. The webinar sets out to introduce the BigDataEurope project in general as well as the various stakeholders and applications for Big Data in the Transport domain in particular, followed by a question and answer session. More information on the agenda and speakers will be available shortly. Register for the seminar here.
    Read More
  • Call for contributions for ITS Europe
    November 21, 2016
    Ertico-ITS Europe has issued a call for contributions for the 12th ITS European Congress, which takes place in Strasbourg, 19-22 June 2017. The main theme of the congress is ‘ITS beyond borders’ and contributions should address the seven main topics, including mobility services, next generation goods delivery, transport networks evaluation, connected and automated transport, satellite technology applied to mobility, ITS and the environment, or the author’s own ideas. More information on the topics is
    Read More
  • Wavetronix celebrates growth with strong sales of SmartSensor HD units
    October 23, 2012
    Wavetronix, the global specialist in radar traffic detection and monitoring, is here at the ITS World Congress celebrating another year of major growth and an expanded presence throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. And the company is encouraging transportation agencies around the world to “rise above the road” by considering its true high definition radar as a viable, non-intrusive alternative to loops. This year, Wavetronix supplied thousands of SmartSensor HD units for projects in Denmark, France, Russia, So
    Read More
  • PolChip boosts parking management with CarFlow software
    March 20, 2018
    PolChip presents CarFlow for efficient parking management, including parking networks and integration with a client’s master system. CarFlow includes strictly business solutions like ERP but can also control various elements of car park and building infrastructure. CarFlow system is available on the cloud. It can also be based on the SaaS model – meaning no worries for clients about installation or data security. Software upgrades are remote and automatic, meaning even more convenience for clients.
    Read More

Highlighted Content