Tesla’s 'driverless' Autopilot Car accident in Texas USA.

 

(The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the crash.) 

T

he National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary two-page report on the fatal crash of a Tesla Model S in Texas last month in which local authorities said no one was in the driver's seat.

There are several needful disclosures in the NTSB report. The first is that the images from the security camera of the owner's house captured the owner entering through the driver's side door, while his companion did so from the passenger side. The car leaves the house, travels 550 feet before turning off the road around a curve, hitting a drainage culvert, an elevated manhole, and a tree. The car then burst into flames, killing the two occupants.

 

 

 

THERE IS A LOT OF SPECULATION FROM THE MANY INTERESTED ONLINE VIEWERS OF TESLA

 

The second relevant finding is that NTSB accident investigators tested whether Tesla's Autopilot advanced driver assistance system would work on the part of the road where the accident occurred. There has been a lot of speculation from Tesla's many interested online watchers as to whether the autopilot would work on the highway near the crash site.

Using the autopilot requires both traffic aware cruise control (Tesla's brand name for its adaptive cruise control feature) and automatic steering (which aids in lane departure and centering) to work. According to the NTSB, traffic-aware cruise control could engage, but not automatic steering.

Tesla claims that its own data suggests that local officials were wrong when they reported that the car crashed without someone in the driver's seat. Company executives have stated that the steering wheel was "deformed" and the seat belts were fastened, leading them to conclude that someone was behind the wheel.

Some limited data from the accident was recovered. NTSB said the fire terminated the onboard storage equipment and devices located in the vehicle's infotainment console. The restraint control module, which records data associated with vehicle speed, seatbelt condition, acceleration and airbag deployment, was recovered but was also damaged in the fire.

 

 

THE BOARD MAY NOT RELEASE ITS FINAL ACCIDENT REPORT THIS YEAR

 

The board is likely not to issue its final report on the accident this year. By comparison, the NTSB investigation into the death of a California man while using the autopilot in his Tesla Model X took two years to complete.

The accident took place on Saturday April 17 in Spring, Texas. According to KHOU in Houston, investigators at the scene were "100 percent certain" that no one was in the driver's seat at the time of the accident. Minutes before the crash, the men's wives were said to have heard them talk about the vehicle's autopilot function, which was a 2019 Tesla Model S. The two victims were identified as Everette Talbot, 69, and William Varner, 59, a prominent local anesthesiologist.