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

  • Gig launches electric car-share service in Sacramento
    May 3, 2019
    Gig has launched its an electric car-share service in Sacramento, California, and will award one member of its programme a year of free driving. Gig says members can participate in the competition by taking a trip with the service until 31 May. The company says the app allows users to see available cars and book up to 30 minutes in advance or instantly choose any of its vehicles which are display a green windshield light. The car can be unlocked via a smartphone and be driven from using a power butt
    Read More
  • ITS Netherlands and Canada announce MoU
    March 26, 2014
    ITS Netherlands and ITS Canada signed an MoU at the show yesterday, aiming to learn from each other’s experiences in the sector. “Our relationship goes way back,” said the organisation’s president, Michael de Santis, “but we thought it was an opportune time here at Intertraffic to formalise this.”
    Read More
  • Worries as Huawei given role in UK’s 5G network
    April 24, 2019
    Alarm has been expressed by MPs over the UK government’s decision to allow Chinese firm Huawei to work on the UK’s 5G network. Prime minister Theresa May has banned Huawei from supplying ‘core’ parts of the country’s 5G infrastructure – but is believed to have given the green light for it to help deliver what are being called ‘non-core’ parts. As well as being for mobile phones, 5G is the technology which will be used to improve connectivity of autonomous vehicles and traffic controls. However, there ar
    Read More
  • Hawaii wins more than $400,000 in EPA Grants
    November 27, 2018
    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $411,578 in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants to Hawaii to help curb pollution from diesel vehicle sources. The EPA’s West Coast Collaborative administers the DERA programme. This partnership, which combines the EPA’s Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest Regions, utilises public and private funds in a bid to reduce emissions. The Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) intends to use the grant to replace two diesel transit buses with batter
    Read More

Highlighted Content