A Tesla may have been operating on the Autopilot driving system when he hit and killed a motorcyclist on Friday, April 19, 2024. The fatal event raises questions about whether a recent recall went far enough to ensure Tesla drivers are using Autopilot pay attention to the road. After the crash the driver of a 2022 Tesla Model S told police he was using the Autopilot feature and looked at his cellphone while the Tesla was moving. “The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him,” the officer wrote in a probable-cause document.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide “based on the admitted inattention to driving, while on Autopilot mode, and the distraction of the cell phone while moving forward, putting trust in the machine to drive for him,” the affidavit said. The Tesla driver told police he was driving home from having lunch when the crash occurred at about 3:45 p.m. The motorcyclist was under the car and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities reported. Authorities have not independently verified whether Autopilot was in use at the time of the crash.
The death comes only about four months after U.S. auto safety regulators pressured Tesla into recalling more than 2 million vehicles to fix a defective system that’s supposed to make sure drivers pay attention when using Autopilot. Under the December recall, part of a two-year investigation into Tesla’s on Autopilot hitting emergency vehicles parked on roadways, Tesla reluctantly agreed to update Autopilot software to increase warnings and alerts to drivers. Autopilot is designed to keep a car centered in its lane and a distance from vehicles in front of it. On their own website Tesla says the cars can’t drive themselves, despite the name.
The monitoring system sends alerts to drivers if it fails to detect torque from hands on the steering wheel, a system that experts have described as inadequate. They say the systems should have infrared cameras that make sure drivers have their eyes on the road. It’s not known if the specific Tesla involved in the death of the motorcyclist had the software update specified in the recall. Documents filed by Tesla with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) say most newer Tesla’s have software that automatically include the update.
Kelly Funkhouser, associate director of vehicle technology for Consumer Reports, said it’s her understanding that the software update automatically went to most Tesla’s. Many Tesla’s have cameras in the cabin that can watch drivers using Autopilot, but Consumer Reports found in testing that the cameras can be covered up by drivers without consequences.
If Autopilot was in use, “NHTSA should be looking at this as a data point as to whether Tesla has effectively removed unreasonable risk from the use of Autopilot,” Koopman said. “The problem is this affects other road users, which is why regulatory intervention is appropriate.” Since 2016, the NHTSA has sent investigators to at least 35 crashes in which a Tesla was suspected of operating on a partially automated driving system hit parked emergency vehicles, motorcyclists or tractor trailers that crossed in the vehicles’ paths, causing a total of 17 deaths. The agency also is investigating crashes involving automated driving systems from other automakers. Most recently it sent teams to two fatal crashes involving Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles.
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