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Tesla crashes into parked police car in California; driver says Autopilot was on https://ift.tt/2LLXMBg 
Police in Laguna Beach, California, say a Tesla Model S crashed into a parked patrol car. The driver, who suffered minor injuries, told investigators Autopilot was engaged at the time of the accident. Local news channel ABC7 reports the incident happened on the morning of May 29 on Laguna Canyon Road. Though the investigation is ongoing, the first police officers who arrived at the scene noted the force of the impact pushed the Ford Explorer over the sidewalk. Both cars sustained a substantial amount of damage; police declared the patrol car a total loss. Luckily, it was unoccupied at the time of the impact. We don’t know exactly what happened or how fast the Tesla was driving. The investigation will reveal whether Autopilot malfunctioned, or if this represents yet another case of technology-aided distracted driving. Police sergeant Jim Cota noted the crash happened in the same spot a Tesla collided with a semi last year. “Why do these vehicles keep doing that? We’re just lucky people aren’t getting injured,” Cota told the Los Angeles Times.
Tesla hasn’t commented on the crash. We imagine that will soon change. Company co-founder and CEO Elon Musk recently criticized members of the media for covering accidents involving Tesla’s vehicles. Speaking during a conference call, he explained he’s tired of the bad press and pledged to release quarterly safety reports to persuade drivers and journalists that the system makes driving safer, not more dangerous. Digital Trends reached out to Tesla for more information. We’ll update this story if we hear back. The accident is the latest in a surprisingly long string of Autopilot-related crashes this year. Earlier in May, a 28-year old woman suffered a broken ankle when her Tesla Model S slammed into the back of a fire truck parked at a light on the outskirts of Salt Lake City. Reviewing the vehicle’s logs revealed she had Autopilot turned on but used the system improperly because she regularly took her hands off the steering wheel. She admitted she was looking at her phone before the impact. In March, the 38-year old driver of a Model X died after his crossover drove into a concrete divider on Highway 101 in Mountain View, California. He had engaged Autopilot, but he took his hands off the steering wheel moments before the collision. In January, another Model S rear-ended a fire engine at 65 mph in Culver City, California. The driver blamed Autopilot; the investigation into the crash remains open.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends https://ift.tt/2p4eJdC May 30, 2018 at 10:49AM
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