Tesla on Autopilot crashes into 18-wheeler truck, kills owner
Tesla on Autopilot crashes into 18-wheeler truck, kills owner
Occurred: March 2019
Page published: November 2023
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A Tesla with its Autopilot driver assistance system activated drove under a tractor-trailer that had moved into its path, killing the Tesla driver instantly.
Jeremy Banner had been driving to work in his 2018 Tesla Model 3 in Delray Beach, Florida, when an eighteen-wheeler tractor-trailer moved into his path.Β
Ten seconds earlier Banner had activated the car's Autopilot system, but it failed to detect the farm vehicle and the car drove underneath the trailer, shearing off the hood and killing Banner instantly.Β
Tesla Autopilot
Tesla Autopilot is an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) developed by Tesla that amounts to partial vehicle automation (Level 2 automation, as defined by SAE International).
Source: Wikipedia π
β February 2020. A US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation concluded that the truck driver was primarily to blame for pulling into traffic, but also said that Banner and Tesla were at fault. Banner was ruled to have ignored the road due to an overreliance on Autopilot, and for having been 'inattentive' for failing to take evasive action.
β November 2023. Florida judge Reid Scott allowed a lawsuit to proceed against Tesla that accused the company of intentional negligence and misconduct over the crash. Scott said that he had found 'reasonable evidence' that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was aware of a dangerous defect in the automaker's Autopilot system but still allowed the cars to be driven.
Developer: Tesla
Country: USA
Sector: Automotive
Purpose: Automate steering, acceleration, braking
Technology: Driver assistance system
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Safety
Transparency: Governance; Transparency
NTSB investigation [No. HWY19FH008]
https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2020/jeremy-banner-trusted-tesla-autopilot-too-much-ntsb.shtml
https://apnews.com/article/tesla-elon-musk-lawsuit-florida-a0d1641fd1c03c086409556efe333d0d
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2023/tesla-autopilot-crash-analysis/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/22/tesla-autopilot-defective-lawsuit-musk