The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reportedly launched an investigation into the crash of a Tesla Model 3 that resulted in the death of a passenger after the car smashed into a fire truck. The agency suspects that Tesla’s so-called “Autopilot” system contributed to the crash.
CNBC reports that the NHTSA has announced that it is launching an investigation into a crash on December 29 in Indiana in which a Tesla Model 3 collided with a fire truck. The crash resulted in the death of a passenger and marks the 14th crash involving a Tesla that the NHTSA’s special crash investigation program has taken up in which it suspects that the vehicles Autopilot system was in use.
This is the third Tesla crash that the NHTSA has begun investigating in recent weeks. In at least three Tesla vehicles that were involved in fatal crashes since 2016, it appears that the vehicles’ Autopilot has been engaged in. NHTSA is also probing another Tesla crash on December 29 in which a Model S Tesla in Gardena, California, ran a red light and collided with a 2006 Honda Civic killing its two occupants.
The NHTSA has also stated that it’s investigating a crash involving a Tesla Model 3 which rear-ended a parked police car in Connecticut which has brought the collision detecting of the cars autopilot system into question. The NHTSA has repeatedly criticized Tesla Autopilot’s lack of safeguards and stated in Stepmeber during a probe of a crash in Culver City, California in 2018 that the Autopilots system’s design “permitted the driver to disengage from the driving task.”
Tesla has stated that Autopilot “enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane,” but does not make the vehicle autonomous. However, some drivers report that they can keep their hands off the wheel for extended periods when Autopilot is active. U.S. Senator Ed Markey has called on Tesla to disable AUtopilot until it installs new safeguards to prevent drivers from bypassing system limits that could allow them to fall asleep.
The NHTSA has stated that its special crash investigation team has reviewed a total of 23 crashes involving vehicles where it was believed that some form of driver assistance was a factor.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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