Tesla Autopilot found not guilty in driver's death

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published the results of an investigation into the Tesla Model S car crash in May 2016, in which the driver died. Investigators concluded ( .pdf ) that Tesla's autopilot functioned normally and could not have caused the crash.

The automatic braking system of the electric vehicle, as stated in the report, is provided primarily to prevent collisions in the direction of travel. She could not influence the situation when a truck suddenly appeared in front of the Tesla, which left the adjacent road.

In addition, the Tesla autopilot is not designed for full control of the car and requires constant control by the driver. As noted in the management, after the accident, Tesla added another safety net. Now the car makes sure that the driver keeps his hands on the steering wheel, and if he doesn’t take the wheel even after a warning, the autopilot turns off until the end of the trip.

The investigation also showed that after the introduction of automatic steering mode in Tesla cars, when the car itself “holds” the lane, the number of accidents decreased by 40 percent.

• The only fatal accident of a Tesla car under autopilot control occurred on May 7, 2016 in Florida. Neither the driver of the car, Joshua Brown, nor the cameras of the autopilot noticed a white truck that began to turn in front of the car. As a result of the collision, Brown was killed.
• In October 2016, Tesla released a new version of Autopilot with additional cameras and improved radar. This system can independently control the machine in any conditions. It is currently undergoing beta testing.