A driver drives hands-free in a Tesla Motors Inc. Model S vehicle equipped with Autopilot hardware and software in New York.
Christopher Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a “violent” accident involving a Tesla sedan and a trailer last week in Detroit. Investigators have yet to say whether Tesla’s Autopilot, FSD or FSD beta may have contributed to the accident.
NHTSA said on Monday in a statement, “NHTSA is aware of the violent accident that occurred on March 11 in Detroit involving a Tesla and a tractor trailer. We launched a Special Accident Investigation team to investigate the accident.” Reuters previously reported the investigation.
The Detroit police department said in an email that the accident happened when a Tesla driven by “an unknown driver” crashed into a truck and “got stuck under the trailer”. A passenger in the car is in critical condition and the circumstances of the accident are still under investigation.
NHTSA had already embarked on investigations into more than a dozen crashes that were thought to involve Tesla’s advanced driver assistance systems.
These systems include Tesla’s standard autopilot package and a more advanced option marketed as Full Self-Driving, which sells today for $ 10,000. The company’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (or FSD) technology does not make Tesla vehicles safe for operation without a driver behind the wheel. Some customers who purchase the FSD option also gain access to a “beta” version to try out the newest features that are being added to the system before all bugs are resolved.
Investigators have yet to say whether any of these systems were in use during or shortly before the March 11 crash in Detroit. However, autopilot Tesla vehicles have collided with stationary objects and large vehicles, including tractor trailers and fire trucks, on several occasions.
Jeremy Beren Banner, 50, of Lake Worth, Florida, died when his Autopilot Model 3 hit the side of a Florida semi-trailer on March 1, 2019, resulting in his car’s roof breaking as he passed under.
Tesla’s autopilot system, although it has changed significantly over the years, has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny since 2016, when an owner named Joshua Brown died driving his autopilot Tesla Model S in Gainsville, Florida. The vehicle also collided with a tractor trailer.
Another federal vehicle safety agency that provides recommendations to the NHTSA, the National Transportation Safety Board, recently called for clear and strict rules for automated steering systems at the federal level. The council pointed to Tesla’s approach to automated steering systems as a reason why stricter safety requirements and clear regulation are needed.