US research council publishes technical details Tesla crash in Florida
The U.S. Transportation Safety Board, the National Transportation Safety Board, has released technical details about a May 2016 accident in the U.S. in which a Tesla Model S collided with a truck, killing the driver.
An examination of the driver’s two laptops did not reveal that they were in use during the crash. It was previously speculated that the driver was watching a movie during the drive. In addition, based on the electronic data, it appears that there has been no braking, neither by the driver nor by the automatic braking system. These findings confirm an earlier report by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, which already ruled that there were no defects and that the automatic braking system was not broken. The Nhtsa also concluded that the driver himself did not take any action by adjusting or braking.
The NTSB states that the driver should have kept his hands on the wheel for a period of 37 minutes, but he only did so for the duration of 25 seconds. The Autopilot was on for much of the ride. The system gave the driver a visual warning to keep their hands on the wheel on more than one occasion, but these were ignored.
The released information does not constitute a final report and the NTSB has not yet released any conclusions about the cause of the crash. For example, it is not yet clear why the driver did not try to take control of the autopilot during the fatal crash. The truck must have been visible for at least seven seconds.
In the Florida accident, a Tesla Model S semi-trailer truck crossed the road, which was not noticed by Autopilot or the Tesla Model S driver. According to Tesla, the white truck was not detected against the white sky behind it. The carmaker still emphasizes that the driver remains responsible and must keep his focus on driving, despite the activation of Autopilot. According to a Tesla spokesperson, the Autopilot is not yet turning the car into an autonomous vehicle.
The NTSB relied on data from Tesla for its findings, as the in-car system is not accessible to others. The NTSB can only make recommendations and not impose obligations. It is unclear when the investigation council will publish the final report.