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

  • Pips Technology brand comes alive at Intertraffic
    March 19, 2018
    Neology, the US-headquartered technology leader supplying private industry and governments with advanced tolling, ITS, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) solutions, is aiming to re-establish the Pips Technology brand and launch an innovative new ANPR camera. Pips Technology, a name traditionally synonymous with high-performance ANPR solutions, was acquired by Neology last year, along with its technology. It is a strategic acquisition that complements and strengthens Neology’s traditional core bus
    Read More
  • ITS UK: freight experts call for technology to support deliveries
    March 5, 2018
    Members of ITS (UK)’s Freight Interest Group have raised concerns that relying on autonomous vehicles and platooning to provide future solutions may be diverting attention away from current technology which could help in the short-to-medium-term, at the Industry 4.0 Summit in Manchester. The group suggested that logistics efficiency could be improved by better communication with light goods vehicle drivers. Additionally, signal timing technology could decrease the number of stops that Heavy Goods Vehicles
    Read More
  • Teleste unveils 5G smart bus stop in Finland
    November 27, 2018
    Teleste says its smart bus stop in Espoo, Finland, uses video surveillance and 5G to help security personnel respond to incidents. Teleste’s bus stop is being tested as part of the Nokia Bell Labels LuxTurrim5G project, which seeks to demonstrate the fast 5G network based on smart light poles, with integrated antennas, base stations, sensors, screens and other devices. The bus stop is located within Teleste’s Connected Zone – an area which utilises alarms, built-in cameras and dynamic information solutio
    Read More
  • ComfortDelGro to deploy MaaS Global app in Singapore
    October 10, 2018
    Transport company ComfortDelGro is trialling MaaS Global’s Whim app in Singapore. The Finnish mobility company secured a €9m funding round for the app in August to support its ambition in revolutionising the way people move. ComfortDelGro says the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) app’s users will be able to access its fleet of taxis as well as transition from a train or a bus or choose to finish the trip on a bicycle. Kaj Pyyhtiä, MaaS Global co-founder, says the company will use the initiative to enter
    Read More

Highlighted Content