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

  • Uber seeks to resume AV trials nearly eight months after Arizona fatality
    November 6, 2018
    Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a pedestrian in Arizona. The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities. Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The
    Read More
  • Swarco shows integrated solutions capabilities at ITS World Congress in Vienna
    October 22, 2012
    Swarco has a major presence here at the ITS World Congress on two stands (D10 & E10) and will be focusing on the company’s integrated solutions capabilities in urban and interurban traffic management, parking and e-mobility and public transport. Swarco technology, including traffic controllers, LED signals, LED VMS, and LED street lights, will be featured within the Testfeld Telematik, the outdoor demo course taking place under real Vienna traffic conditions and showing the interaction of cooperative system
    Read More
  • Swarco shows integrated solutions capabilities at ITS World Congress in Vienna
    October 22, 2012
    Swarco has a major presence here at the ITS World Congress on two stands (D10 & E10) and will be focusing on the company’s integrated solutions capabilities in urban and interurban traffic management, parking and e-mobility and public transport. Swarco technology, including traffic controllers, LED signals, LED VMS, and LED street lights, will be featured within the Testfeld Telematik, the outdoor demo course taking place under real Vienna traffic conditions and showing the interaction of cooperative system
    Read More
  • Adaptive cruise control would suppress traffic instability
    March 20, 2014
    Professor Berthold Horn of Massachusetts Institute of Technology believes a modified adaptive cruise control could mitigate phantom traffic jamsthat occur for no apparent reason. The phenomenon of the phantom traffic jam is all too common: they appear for no apparent reason and, having caused frustrating delays for all travelers, evaporate for an equally mystical reason. Phantom traffic jams usually occur on busy highways and often take the form of repeatedly stopping and then accelerating up to near the
    Read More

Highlighted Content