A Tesla operating on Autopilot hit a Florida Highway Patrol car Saturday, according to a report.
The Orlando Sun Sentinal reported that a trooper was helping a disabled vehicle in the westbound lanes of I-4 near downtown Orlando. With his emergency lights on, the trooper was helping the driver when the Tesla hit the left side of his car. There were no injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced early this month an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot feature.
The agency pointed to 11 crashes since January 2018 where Tesla models operating on Autopilot “have encountered first responder scenes and subsequently struck one or more vehicles involved with those scenes.” The agency said the accidents caused 17 injuries and one death.
“Most incidents took place after dark and the crash scenes encountered included scene control measures such as first responder vehicle lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, and road cones,” the investigation summary said. “The involved subject vehicles were all confirmed to have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes.”
The investigation includes about 765,000 Tesla vehicles in the U.S., applying to the entire lineup since 2014.
Image: Flordia Highway Patrol