An investigation into the death of a Tesla Model S driver who was using the car’s semi-autonomous Autopilot function has revealed the driver received several visual and audio warnings before his fatal crash.
In May last year, Joshua Brown passed away after Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot feature failed to distinguish a large white truck crossing the highway. At the time, Tesla stated that car attempted to drive full speed under the trailer, which resulted in the fatality. At the time, the incident was reported to be the first fatality involving autonomous driving technology.
A newly published 500-page report from the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) in to the incident states the Autopilot mode remained on during most of the journey and gave the driver the “Hands Required Not Detected” visual warning on seven separate occasions. The system also chimed on six occasions before it returned to the “Hands Required Detected” message for one to three second periods.
Even though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did not discover any evidence of a fault with the Autopilot system, the newly released report by the NTSB did stress the need for Tesla drivers to pay close attention, even when using the feature.
Speaking to press, the National Transportation Safety Board stated that no conclusions about the crash could be drawn from report and any findings, recommendations and probable cause determinations related to the crash will be issued by the board at a later date.
Report details, including a crash reconstruction report, witness interviews and toxicology reports can be viewed here.
