The 16 Tesla crashes are the focus of a federal investigation into incidents in which cars using Autopilot collided with stationary emergency vehicles on highways.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a preliminary evaluation in August 2021 and upgraded to engineering analysis in June 2022.
All Teslas in the cases under investigation were confirmed to have used Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. Most of the crashes were at night and involved flashing lights, flares, or cones placed near the parked vehicle.
The collision killed one Tesla passenger and injured 15 others.
An August 2021 summary by the agency’s Defects Investigations Bureau included the following findings:
• Collision warning was activated just before the crash in most accidents, and automatic emergency braking intervened in about half of them.
• On average, Autopilot gave up vehicle control 1 second before the first crash.
• If video of the incident had been available, it indicated that the emergency would have been visible to drivers an average of eight seconds before the crash.
• Data from 11 crashes show that all drivers had their hands on the steering wheel and none took evasive action 2-5 seconds before the crash.
The map above shows the approximate locations of the 16 crashes. Minimal information has been released about five of his cases.
Cases under investigation:
1/ Culver CityCALIFORNIA, JANUARY 22, 2018: A Tesla Model S collided with a fire truck parked at the scene of an accident on Interstate 405. His CHP vehicle with flashing lights was parked behind him on the left side of the fire truck lane. right. No injuries have been reported.
2/ Norwalk, Connecticut, December 7, 2019: A Tesla Model 3 crashes into a parked cruiser and then the failed car as two state police escort a broken down vehicle on Interstate 95. collided with The cruiser had her emergency lights on and had flares in her carriageway. No injuries have been reported. The Tesla driver reportedly said he put the car on autopilot so he could see what the dog in the back seat was doing.
3/ Cloverdale, Indiana, December 29, 2019: A 25-year-old Arizona man driving a Tesla Model 3 was struck by a fire truck parked at the site of a crash on Interstate 70. The Tesla driver was seriously injured and his wife was killed. The truck was badly damaged, but no firefighters were inside at the time.
4/ West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, January 22, 2020: A Tesla driver encounters a Massachusetts State Police SUV that was holding a traffic stop on Route 24. The SUV was pushed into a parked car on the left side of the traffic. lane. No injuries have been reported.
5/Cochise CountyArizona, July 30, 2020: A 23-year-old man in a Tesla comes across an empty Highway Patrol SUV parked at the scene of an accident on Interstate 10 near Benson. , pushed the vehicle behind the ambulance. A Tesla driver from Irvine, Calif., was injured. Suspected drunk driving.
6/ Spring Hope, North Carolina, August 26, 2020: A Tesla man crashes into two police cars parked on the side of US Highway 64. State troopers pushed the sheriff’s deputy out of the way as Tesla drove toward them, but no one was injured. I said yes.
7/ HoustonNovember 2020: A Tesla crashes into a police vehicle.
8/ Mount PleasantSouth Carolina, January 2021: A Tesla crashes into the crash dampener in the back of a maintenance truck.
9/Montgomery County, Texas, February 27, 2021: Police north of Houston were holding a traffic stop when one of their vehicles was hit by a Tesla. Several police officers and a dog suffered minor injuries, and one person at the scene was seriously injured. Tesla driver arrested on suspicion of DUI.
10/ Lansing, Michigan, March 17, 2021: A 22-year-old man in a Tesla was assisting a parked State Police cruiser after his car struck a deer on Interstate 96 in Eaton County. collided with No injuries have been reported.
11/ BelmontCA, April 2021: A Tesla crashes into a police vehicle.
12/ MiamiMay 19, 2021: A Tesla collides with a Florida Department of Transportation truck at the site of a crash on Interstate 95. A Tesla driver and two of his employees at the Department of Transportation were injured.
13/ San DiegoHer car hit a parked and empty highway patrol cruiser. A Tesla passenger was injured and the Tesla driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
14/ Orlando, August 28, 2021: At approximately 5 a.m., a 27-year-old man driving a Model 3 on Interstate 4 near Orlando was struck by a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle. handicapped car. The driver of the Tesla and the disabled car suffered minor injuries. The trooper was unharmed.
15/PetalumaCA, September 2021: No details provided.
16/ Desert CenterCA, January 2022: No details provided.
Other cases:
• For preliminary NHTSA evaluation, Laguna Beach, CA, May 20, 2018, a Tesla crashes into a parked unmanned police SUV. The patrol car was heavily damaged. The Tesla driver suffered minor injuries. The incident was excluded from analysis because the police car was parked off the road and had no lights on.
• In March 2023, the Traffic Safety Agency will Investigate Fatal Crashes the month before Tesla crashes into fire truck At the site of an earlier crash on Interstate 680 Walnut Creek, California. That crash has not been formally added to the engineering analysis study.
