Tesla rear-ends Kawasaki motorcycle, kills rider

Occurred: August 2022

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A Tesla Model 3 rear-ended a Kawasaki motorcycle in Boca Raton, Florida, in the middle of the night, throwing the biker from her seat into the Tesla's windshield. She died from her injuries at a nearby medical centre.

According to CNN, the official report from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said Tesla's Autopilot partially-automated driver assistance system was engaged. The driver, lawyer Richard Dorfman, was found to have been driving impaired at the time of the crash. 

The incident was the third in two months in which Teslas using Autopilot had hit motorbikes from behind and killed the riders. Previously a Tesla Model 3 rear-ended a Harley-Davidson in Utah, killing its rider, 34-year-old Landon Embry, and a Tesla Model Y also killed a rider having rear-ended a Yamaha motorcycle on a freeway outside Riverside, California.

Operator: 
Developer: Tesla
Country: USA
Sector: Automotive
Purpose: Automate steering, acceleration, braking
Technology: Driver assistance system
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Safety
Transparency: Black box