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In this photo provided by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, firefighters are seen at the scene of a fatal crash involving Tesla and Contra Costa County fire engines on February 18, 2023 in Contra Costa, California.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Federal motor vehicle safety regulators have launched new special crash investigations for fatal crashes involving accidents. Tesla CNBC spotted a Model S sedan and fire truck in Walnut Creek, Calif. last month.
According to records obtained by CNBC from the California Highway Patrol and the Contra Costa County Fire Department, the Tesla driver was killed, one passenger was seriously injured, and four firefighters in the truck were taken to hospital. rice field.
The Associated Press first reported About the special investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to fire department records after the February 18 incident, a fire truck was parked in the middle of an interstate highway and was towing a wrecked vehicle out of the area when a Tesla drove into the area. protected the first responders of
NHTSA and CHP have each launched separate investigations into the crash.
CHP wrote in a statement following the fatal accident: at the time of the crash. ”
Both CHP and NHTSA want to know whether Tesla’s driver assistance systems, which are sold in the US as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving options, caused the crash.
All new Tesla vehicles in the US come with a standard driver assistance package called Autopilot. Customers who pay Tesla $199 a month or upfront he pays a subscription fee of $15,000 get access to additional driving assistance features as part of his premium called FSD, which stands for Full Self-Driving. can also do. Tesla also allows FSD customers to sign up for her FSD beta. It’s a way to test new features that aren’t fully debugged on public roads.
Despite the brand name, Tesla does not make self-driving cars or driverless systems. The company warns drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and be ready to take over the wheel or brake at any time.
The crash study is part of a larger NHTSA study into Tesla’s driver assistance systems and how they work around parked first responders.
NHTSA has begun a “preliminary evaluation” of Tesla’s autopilot system, according to records on the agency’s website. August 13, 2021“The start of the investigation was motivated by the accumulation of crashes in which Tesla vehicles with Autopilot engaged collide with first responder vehicles stationary on the road or on the road tending towards an existing crash scene. rice field.
According to the NHTSA report, At least 14 Teslas crashed into first responder vehicles while the autopilot system was in use.
NHTSA expanded its investigation to an “engineering analysis” in spring 2022, saying Tesla’s system could “compromise the effectiveness of driver monitoring, exacerbating human factors or behavioral safety risks.” decided whether
Simply put, NHTSA is trying to determine whether Tesla’s Autopilot, FSD, and other driver-assistance features will distract drivers from the road and make them safer to drive without them. I’m doing it.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. NHTSA has not commented on the pending investigation.