Model S crash: Germany 9/28/16

[malcolm]

Tesla 'on autopilot' crashes on German Autobahn

No fatalities. Minor injuries to driver.

Vehicle collided with "tourist bus"

Driver claims AP active.

Tesla yet to confirm.

Happened on Wednesday. Version 7.1? Version 8.0?

 

[Stoneymonster]

At what point does this stop being big news? When there are 1 million model 3s on the road, there's going to be several Tesla accidents a day.

 

[Matias]

At what point does this stop being big news? When there are 1 million model 3s on the road, there's going to be several Tesla accidents a day.

I surely hope there won't be several accidents with AP a day...

I don't think that accidents with AP will ever stop being a news.

Tesla can't have it both ways; create huge hype with AP and then hope that media does not react when something goes wrong.

 

[Matias]

Happened on Wednesday. Version 7.1? Version 8.0?

8.0 is not yet rolled out in Europe.

 

[malcolm]

8.0 is not yet rolled out in Europe.

Thanks for confirming that.

 

[Stoneymonster]

I surely hope there won't be several accidents with AP a day...

I don't think that accidents with AP will ever stop being a news.

Tesla can't have it both ways; create huge hype with AP and then hope that media does not react when something goes wrong.

Well, in not too long they won't be the only company with this feature being used regularly.

 

[Jeff N]

Electrek has more details:

Tesla Model S crashes into a bus in Germany, Autopilot is being blamed again

According to one report (German), the driver told the police that the vehicle was doing the steering when the accident occurred.

He was reportedly trying to overtake the bus by moving to the left lane and the crash happened when trying to move back into the right lane.

Tesla’s Autopilot has an automatic lane change feature that enables the vehicle to change lanes using the turn signal while on ‘Autosteer’, but Tesla says that the driver is still responsible for looking and making sure that the lane change is safe before activating the turn signal.

 

[malcolm]

He was reportedly trying to overtake the bus by moving to the left lane and the crash happened when trying to move back into the right lane.

Unclear how this ties in with other reports of the car "rear-ending" the bus.

Also, difficult to hide a bus in a blind spot.

I'd be interested to know the speeds of the two vehicles. We are talking Autobahn (assuming that's been reported correctly)

 

[jeffro01]

This really is getting old... Fast. What is the relevant nature of posting each and every accident that MAY have involved AP, specifically autosteer???

Jeff

 

[Stoneymonster]

Unclear how this ties in with other reports of the car "rear-ending" the bus.

Also, difficult to hide a bus in a blind spot.

I'd be interested to know the speeds of the two vehicles. We are talking Autobahn (assuming that's been reported correctly)

Sounds like pilot (regular, not auto) error.

 

[svp6]

This is actually the scenario where AP is most vulnerable - the ultrasound sensors for blind spot detection are clearly suboptimal. I watch (just for curiosity) if they detect an object when I pass trucks - missing detection is common. I never trust AP for making the decision it is safe to switch lanes. This is a known weakness of the system. Tesla will need to implement different sensors in AP 2.0.

 

[McRat]

Easy fix. Call it ACP (Automatic Co-Pilot).

Just kidding.

 

[Stoneymonster]

This is actually the scenario where AP is most vulnerable - the ultrasound sensors for blind spot detection are clearly suboptimal. I watch (just for curiosity) if they detect an object when I pass trucks - missing detection is common. I never trust AP for making the decision it is safe to switch lanes. This is a known weakness of the system. Tesla will need to implement different sensors in AP 2.0.

Even when AP 2.0 comes out (and I obtain it somehow) I'm still checking my mirror/looking over my shoulder when changing lanes.

 

[svp6]

Even when AP 2.0 comes out (and I obtain it somehow) I'm still checking my mirror/looking over my shoulder when changing lanes.

Of course. But I can see how this could have happened.

 

[Az_Rael]

This really is getting old... Fast. What is the relevant nature of posting each and every accident that MAY have involved AP, specifically autosteer???

Jeff

I am guessing because it's new technology and it's exciting. Plus Tesla claims AP is much safer that regular manual driving so news outlets are drawn to the stories when AP was engaged during an accident.

I think they are useful here because we are fans, so any Tesla related news is relevant. Also, I think we learn something with each incident once Tesla releases the logs saying what happened. (Except the Texas crash - we never learned the logs in that case)

 

[theslimshadyist]

Driver wasn't using AP at time of the crash.

 

[trils0n]

Update to Electrek article to include statement from Tesla:

We have spoken to our customer, who confirmed that Autopilot was functioning properly and that his use of Autopilot was unrelated to the accident. We’re glad that he’s safe.

 

[somnambule]

Electrek has more details:

Tesla Model S crashes into a bus in Germany, Autopilot is being blamed again

The updates in that article suggest that there's not much clarity yet on exactly what happened, or even whether it was the Tesla or the bus that were changing lanes. Hard to even venture an educated guess with so many variables.

There is this from Tesla in the article (emphasis mine):

We have spoken to our customer, who confirmed that Autopilot was functioning properly and that his use of Autopilot was unrelated to the accident.

 

[BluestarE3]

Another update to that Electrek article:

Update: Another source, who talked with the driver, says that the Model S was driving forward when the crash occurred and that the bus was the vehicle changing lane.

 

[mhan00]

So sounds like the bus changed lanes into him and not the other way around. Nothing to see here.