Tesla Model S cleared by auto safety regulator after fatal Autopilot crash

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Tesla Model S cleared by auto safety regulator after fatal Autopilot crash

US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no cause to order a recall of the vehicles, placing responsibility for the accident primarily on the driver
 

The Tesla Model S. US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told reporters on Thursday that drivers have a duty to take seriously their obligation to maintain control of a vehicle.

 

The US auto safety regulator has cleared Tesla’s Model S of defects that could have led to the death of a man who collided with a truck while using the car’s Autopilot system.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no cause to order a recall of the vehicles, which have advanced driver aids capable of maintaining speed and distance to other cars on the road, lane position and overtaking. It placed responsibility for the accident primarily on the driver, former Navy Seal Joshua Brown.

A Tesla spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers comes first, and we appreciate the thoroughness of NHTSA’s report and its conclusion.”

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk took to Twitter to praise NHTSA’s decision, highlighting the positives of its report.

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told reporters on Thursday that drivers have a duty to take seriously their obligation to maintain control of a vehicle. He said automakers also must explain the limits of semi-autonomous systems. In the case of Tesla’s Autopilot, one limitation was that the system could not detect a truck trailer that crossed the road in front of the victim’s Tesla.

“The (auto) industry is going to have to be clear about what the technology does and what it is does not do, and communicate it clearly,” Foxx said.

The case has been closely watched as automakers race to automate more driving tasks without exposing themselves to increased liability risks. Legal experts said the agency’s decision does not mean automakers would escape liability claims in cases where driver assistance systems fail to prevent a crash.

“If it is known that drivers are misusing and being confused by your self-driving system, then that in and of itself can be a safety-related defect,” product liability lawyer Jason Stephens said.

The crash occurred near Williston, Florida, in May 2016. Brown was operating his Model S in Autopilot mode just before he collided with a truck and was killed. Witnesses said that Brown was watching a Harry Potter movie at the time of the collision.
 

The Tesla Model S that was being driven by Joshua Brown, who was killed when the Tesla sedan crashed while in Autopilot mode on 7 May 2016.

 

Brown’s was the first fatality in a Tesla operating in Autopilot mode, which raised questions about the safety of so-called semi-autonomous systems that can perform driving tasks for long stretches with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers.

NHTSA said in a report that Brown did not apply the brakes and his last action was to set the cruise control at 74 miles per hour (119 kph), less than two minutes before the crash.

The agency said Brown “should have been able to take some action before the crash, like braking, steering or attempting to avoid the vehicle. He took none of those actions.”

The agency also said that the truck should have been visible to Brown for at least seven seconds before impact. Brown “took no braking, steering or other actions to avoid the collision,” the report said.

The Us National Transportation Safety Board is also probing the crash.

Jack Landskroner, a lawyer for Brown’s family, said they plan to evaluate all the information from government agencies investigating the crash “before making any decisions or taking any position on these matters”.

Tesla unveiled improvements to its Autopilot software in September, including new limits on hands-off driving and other features that its chief executive officer said likely would have prevented a fatality.

Musk also announced in October that all new Tesla models would come with an $8,000 (£6,504) package for technology that would allow the car to drive itself with future software updates. By the end of 2017 a Tesla should be able to drive in full autonomous mode from Los Angeles to New York “without the need for a single touch” on the wheel, Musk said.

Rival automakers, including mainstays such as Ford and BMW have said they expect to be able to field autonomous driving capability by around 2020.

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