Autopilot error again?
Tesla crashes into a trailer without braking – the driver is dead
A Tesla crashed into a semi-trailer trailer in the United States with full force. The driver had no chance and died in the process. It’s not the first accident of this kind. Was the autopilot system to blame?
Published: 11 minutes ago
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After a crash in the US state of California, a gray Tesla was trapped under a trailer truck. The driver died instantly.
There is hardly anything left of the Tesla. The front is totally destroyed, buried under a semi-trailer. The aftermath of a horrific accident in the city of Victorville, California, on Tuesday evening. The Tesla driver did not survive the crash. The exact background to the accident is still unclear.
The Tesla may have crashed into the trailer without braking. According to the local “Victor Valley News”, a witness said that she heard the impact but not the brakes. Why wasn’t the handlebar responding? Possibly because the autopilot was on. And it didn’t fail at Tesla for the first time.
Teslas driven by autopilot have been involved in 273 accidents in the United States in the past few months. That accounts for almost 70 percent of the 392 reported accidents involving cars with such a driver assistance system during the period, according to a report published by the US transportation agency NHTSA in summer 2022. However, the electric car maker also has the largest fleet of vehicles with autopilot in the USA.
Autopilot had to be activated in the 30 seconds before the accident
The NHTSA report includes accidents reported between July 2021 and mid-May 2022 involving cars with a Level 2 driver assistance system. This means that the vehicle can accelerate, brake and steer independently, but the driver must remain alert. The autopilot had to be activated in the 30 seconds before the accident.
pile-up causes: Tesla Autopilot brakes abruptly(01:01)
In addition, only accidents in which a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist was involved were taken into account if there was a fatality, someone had to be hospitalized, if the airbag was activated or the vehicle had to be towed away. Last summer, the NHTSA obliged car manufacturers to report such accidents. Of the 11 manufacturers listed, Honda-branded cars had 90 accidents, the second-highest reported number after Tesla.
Accidents involving Teslas with autopilot have repeatedly made headlines in the past. The NHTSA expanded an investigation into the autopilot system of the electric car maker. Tesla boss Elon Musk argues that driver assistance reduces the risk of accidents. (TVA/AFP)