Earlier this year, a fatal crash that claimed the life of a motorcyclist in Washington, D.C. was caused by a Tesla car in “Full Self Driving” mode. Associated Press informed Washington State Patrol investigators confirmed the 2022 Tesla Model S involved in a fatal crash in April was in self-driving mode from the vehicle’s event data recorder.
The crash happened on April 19 on the eastbound side of State Route 522, about 15 miles northeast of Seattle. The unidentified driver told police he engaged the Tesla’s self-driving mode and was looking at his phone at the time of the crash. The car crushed 28-year-old Jeffrey Nissen under the car and crashed into the back of the motorcycle. According to information from Seattle, medical personnel pronounced Nissen dead at the scene of the accident KIRO 7 News.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been making promises for autonomous cars for years. Musk’s promises about car safety were the reason Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal Sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calling for an investigation into Tesla’s “misleading advertising and marketing” practices for its Autopilot and Fully Automatic Driving modes. Last year, NHTSA has recalled more than 2 million Tesla vehicles Due to concerns about driver inattention in autopilot mode.
Musk also promised “One million robot taxis” in 2019 by the end of the following year. Four years later, the car company still delaying the demonstration of the robotaxi initiative due to design changes.
It happened a few days before the Washington accident National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) An investigation has concluded that 14 deaths from 13 accidents were linked to Tesla cars operating in Autopilot mode. NHTSA’s report concluded that “Tesla’s poor driver engagement system was not adequate for Autopilot’s permitted operating capabilities” and that the Full Self-Driving mode “did not adequately ensure that drivers remain focused on the driving task.”
The Wall Street Journal conducted its own investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot mode using data from cars involved in crashes and published its findings on Monday. The video report shows that Tesla has reported more than 1,000 accidents to NHTSA since 2016. WSJ Out of 222 of those crashes, 44 were found to be in Autopilot mode.
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