Update: Tesla Car on Autopilot Accelerated Prior to Fatal Crash
Ken Thayer | June 08, 2018
Tesla SUV crash on U.S. Highway in Mountain View, CA on March 23, 2018; Source: AP
Federal investigators have revealed that the Tesla vehicle involved in a fatal crash that killed 38-year-old driver Walter Huang March 23 in Mountain View, California, accelerated just prior to hitting the median. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had previously reported that the vehicle did not attempt to brake or steer away from the barrier.
The Tesla crash occurred just two weeks after a pedestrian was hit and killed by an autonomous Uber car in Arizona as she was walking her bicycle across the street. Video of the Uber crash clearly showed the driver, Rafael Vasquez, was distracted and had his eyes off the road at the time of the crash.
Expanding on previous details the NTSB said that Huang's hands were detected on the steering wheel three times for a total of 34 seconds, but not during the six seconds immediately preceding the crash. The automobile's autopilot system requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road to supersede the autopilot in cases of emergency.
The NTSB also reported that the Tesla SUV was following a vehicle traveling at 65 mph eight seconds before the crash. A second later, the Tesla steered left while still following the vehicle. Three seconds later (four seconds before the crash) the Tesla was no longer following the other vehicle and three seconds before the impact with the median the SUV accelerated from 62 mph to 70.8 mph “with no pre-crash braking or evasive steering movement detected.”
The Tesla SUV crashed head-on into a concrete lane divider, tearing the hood off the car and smashing the front end of the vehicle. According to the vehicle's data logs, the driver made no attempt to avoid the accident.
The NTSB indicated that the report was not intended as an indictment of Tesla's technology. “The focus is on what led to this crash and how do we prevent it from happening again,” according to the spokesman. They are also investigating fires that broke out in the car's batteries after the crash. Although the fire was extinguished at the scene, the batteries started smoking several hours later, but no fire was detected. Five days after the crash the battery reignited and firefighters needed to put out the fire.
This crash is the second fatality involving a Tesla autonomous car. A May 2016 crash killed 40-year old Joshua Brown in Williston, Florida. A report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated that the autopilot system was partially responsible for the crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also reviewing two other Tesla crashes that occurred while the cars were on autopilot.
A Tesla Model S sedan hit a parked firetruck on Interstate 405 near Los Angeles. The driver of the Tesla stated the car was on autopilot at the time of the crash. The firetruck was unoccupied and there were no injuries reported.
On May 11 a Tesla Model S that was on autopilot and hit a stopped fire department truck near Salt Lake City. The driver indicated that she thought the emergency automatic braking system would stop the car, however, Tesla stated that the driver is responsible for braking and the emergency system is intended to reduce the severity of a crash.
Story Source: AP News
The bleeding edge of technology . . . .
656mph???? Wow!!!!
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