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

  • Automatic incident detection and traffic data collection training
    March 8, 2017
    The Flir Traficon Academy is offering training on automatic incident detection and traffic data collection in Bruges, Belgium on 22 and 23 March. The training focuses on the solutions and applications Flir Intelligent Transportation Systems (FLIR ITS) offers for fast detection of incidents on highways and bridges, detecting incidents and fire in tunnels and accurate traffic data collection on highways and bridges. After this interactive and hands-on training, participants will be able to select the righ
    Read More
  • Speed limiters mandatory in EU cars by 2022
    March 28, 2019
    Various vehicle safety measures have been given the green light by European policymakers, paving the way for speed limiters in cars by 2022. The European Parliament, Council and Commission have approved the measures, which means such technology as lane assist, drowsiness detection, advanced emergency braking and intelligent speed assistance (ISA – or speed limiters) are expected to be mandatory – if formal approval is granted - in new vehicles in three years’ time. EU commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, res
    Read More
  • TMS drive to keep off-road vehicles on the move
    May 23, 2012
    UK company AM Bromley has launched TMS Log Graph, an analytical tool to be used in conjunction with the company’s existing tyre pressure system, putting performance data at managers’ fingertips. The software generates visual reports of tyre performance data logs from all vehicles  tted with a tyre monitoring system, prompting managers to take appropriate action at the earliest opportunity. The user-friendly tool saves time that would otherwise be spent analysing data in-house and is free for existing custo
    Read More
  • Bird acquires California-based EV firm Scoot
    June 19, 2019
    Scooter-share firm Bird is to acquire Scoot, a San Francisco-based electric vehicle (EV) company. Scoot began deploying electric scooters in San Francisco in 2012 and has expanded in Santiago, Chile and Barcelona. Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird says the partnership will work toward replacing “car trips with micro mobility options for all”. Scoot will continue to operate under the same name but as a subsidiary of Bird.
    Read More

Highlighted Content