No one was hurt in the I-405 crash involving a
2014 Tesla Model S that was traveling 31 mph at
the time of impact, according to the report.
The crash occurred after a larger vehicle ahead
of the Tesla, which the driver described as an
SUV or pickup truck, moved out of its lane and
the Tesla hit the truck that had been parked with
its emergency lights flashing while firefighters
handled a different crash.
The probable cause of the rear-end crash was
the driver’s lack of response to the firetruck “due
to inattention and overreliance on the vehicle’s
advanced driver assistance system; the Tesla
Autopilot design, which permitted the driver to
disengage from the driving task, and the driver’s
use of the system in ways inconsistent with
guidance and warnings from the manufacturer,”
the NTSB wrote in the report.
Tesla has said repeatedly that semi-autonomous
system is designed to assist drivers, who must
pay attention and be ready to intervene at all
times. The company says Teslas with Autopilot
are safer than vehicles without it, and that the
system does not prevent all crashes.
CEO Elon Musk has promised a fully autonomous
system next year using the same sensors
as current Teslas, but with a more powerful
computer and software. Current Teslas have more
sensors than the 2014 model in the crash.
The report says the Tesla’s automatic emergency
braking did not activate, and there was no
braking from the driver, a 47-year-old man
commuting to Los Angeles from his home in
Woodland Hills. Also the driver’s hands were not
detected on the wheel in the moments leading
to the crash, the report said.
c. jardin
(C. Jardin)
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