X owner claims unintended acceleration caused accident

[ecarfan]

It looks like his wife was driving it.

The electrek.co article I linked to says, quote:
"A Model X owner claims that his week old SUV accelerated on its own in a parking lot and autonomously crashed into a building at high-speed in Irvine, California.

Tesla Model X owner, Puzant Ozbag, posted his story on the Tesla forum this weekend."

You can see "his" post at 5 day old Tesla X accelerates and crashes on its own while parking | Tesla Motors

So it sounds like he was driving. That said, I would not rule out that his wife was driving the car. He states: "The airbags deployed and my wife's arms have burn marks as a consequence." If his wife was in the driver's seat with her arms on the wheel and the airbags deployed when the car impacted the side of the building, the steering wheel airbag could have rubbed across her forearms as the bag inflated.

It really doesn't matter whether Mr. Ozbag or Ms. Ozbag was behind the wheel. At this point we don't know for sure.

Let's see what Tesla has to say about the vehicle logs. We will hear in due time...

 

[vandacca]

The electrek.co article I linked to says, quote:
"A Model X owner claims that his week old SUV accelerated on its own in a parking lot and autonomously crashed into a building at high-speed in Irvine, California.

Tesla Model X owner, Puzant Ozbag, posted his story on the Tesla forum this weekend."

You can see "his" post at 5 day old Tesla X accelerates and crashes on its own while parking | Tesla Motors

So it sounds like he was driving. That said, I would not rule out that his wife was driving the car. He states: "The airbags deployed and my wife's arms have burn marks as a consequence." If his wife was in the driver's seat with her arms on the wheel and the airbags deployed when the car impacted the side of the building, the steering wheel airbag could have rubbed across her forearms as the bag inflated.

Thanks for the clarification @ecarfan. It's also entirely possible that his wife could have been in the passenger seat or 2nd row (e.g. arm on door) and some of the other air bags were responsible for her burns.

But there is definitely a lack of information, and some of us have filled in the gaps with our own assumptions (which humans typically do). Let's just wait to see how this all plays out and in the meantime, not turn on each other.

 

[EinSV]

Agreed. It's instances like this that make me hope we push forward to L4 as quickly as possible. I have an elderly extended family member who has totaled two vehicles in the past 5 years. (One in a parking lot.) While he can still pass a drivers exam, he is not safe behind the wheel - and can't be talked out of driving himself and his wife. Would be nice if there was a safe vehicle option for him.

My elderly and very ornery ex-mother-in-law drove her car into a 7-11 (apparently she thought forward was reverse). Her kids took away her keys but she eventually complained enough that she wore them down and got the keys back.

Then, about 18 months after the first accident, she drove into the very same 7-11 a second time.

Needless to say, she doesn't drive anymore although she bitterly complains that her kids won't let her. A perfect candidate for autonomous driving when it's available.

 

[Saghost]

When the turn-indicator stalk was moved to the upper position, and the TACC to the lower position in the new models, it became very easy to inadvertently click the TACC up, thinking you are signaling for a left turn. I've done it several times, at low speeds, and have felt the car accelerate. I posted in an earlier thread that changing the stalk positions on the X for those of us previously driving the S, and a MB S550 prior to that, have ingrained habits. Hated that they chose to swap them. Be curious to know the brand of car the lady drove before the new X?

Huh. The manual said TACC won't engage below 18 mph unless there's a car being tracked in front - possibly because of this exact scenario - and my test drive experience matched that.

Were you on a road behind an accelerating car at the time you clicked in, or over 18 mph?

 

[M0DEL³]

Fascinating to watch a good post go so bad at one simple little comma:

Some drivers don't need all that power

Totally agree.... I myself would operate at a lower power setting than standard if it was available. (Especially if it also meant better range.) This is a great point.

Then here is where you jumped the shark: ","

, those above a certain age and soccer moms would be part of that list.

That's where you launched into the beauty shop: As soon as you starting using lists to pigeon-hole others, there is a problem. While I'm certain there are some elderly and some soccer moms who might also prefer such a feature, there are also others who would, justifiably, document their need for higher power settings. Your "lists" have no applicability for others, I could proffer a statistical argument that owners in the DC area are demonstrably less capable of handling the extra power. I do not know your age, but even without that information, in a wager would have to put my money on 74 year old Morgan Shepherd on the question of "Who (Morgan or Zambono) could better handle the power of a Tesla?"

Such blanket generalizations are slippery slopes best avoided.

 

[grommet]

Owner getting some press and interview at Computerworld: Tesla Model X autonomously crashes into building, owner claims

Also...

A Tesla spokesperson sent the following statement to electrek.co after reviewing the vehicle’s logs:
"We analyzed the vehicle logs which confirm that this Model X was operating correctly under manual control and was never in Autopilot or cruise control at the time of the incident or in the minutes before. Data shows that the vehicle was traveling at 6 mph when the accelerator pedal was abruptly increased to 100%. Consistent with the driver’s actions, the vehicle applied torque and accelerated as instructed. Safety is the top priority at Tesla and we engineer and build our cars with this foremost in mind. We are pleased that the driver is ok and ask our customers to exercise safe behavior when using our vehicles."

 

[shonline]

Pilot error confirmed by logs:

Tesla logs show that Model X driver hit the accelerator, Autopilot didn’t crash into building on its own

 

[jomo25]

Well that CW article says (a) his wife was the one driving and (b) he wasn't even in the car when it happened.

 

[CmdrThor]

After throwing Tesla under the bus with his statement that all Model X deliveries should be halted I wonder how long it is going to take him to get his car fixed?

 

[MP3Mike]

Owner getting some press and interview at Computerworld: Tesla Model X autonomously crashes into building, owner claims

Also...

A Tesla spokesperson sent the following statement to electrek.co after reviewing the vehicle’s logs:
"We analyzed the vehicle logs which confirm that this Model X was operating correctly under manual control and was never in Autopilot or cruise control at the time of the incident or in the minutes before. Data shows that the vehicle was traveling at 6 mph when the accelerator pedal was abruptly increased to 100%. Consistent with the driver’s actions, the vehicle applied torque and accelerated as instructed. Safety is the top priority at Tesla and we engineer and build our cars with this foremost in mind. We are pleased that the driver is ok and ask our customers to exercise safe behavior when using our vehicles."

But has Tesla had a chance to analyze the actual accelerator pedal to make sure that it isn't malfunctioning? (I know, I know, there is a very small chance that the pedal falsely reported 100% depression, and a much higher probability that the foot was on the wrong pedal.)

 

[cdub]

I only saw that he said his wife's arms were burned by air bag deployment, but nothing that indicated she was behind the wheel.

Hmmm... I read that as she was driving... my bad.

 

[grommet]

Hmmm... I read that as she was driving... my bad.

She was driving; Puzant wasn't even in vehicle. See Computerworld interview.

 

[xkwizit]

After throwing Tesla under the bus with his statement that all Model X deliveries should be halted I wonder how long it is going to take him to get his car fixed?

I bet his car would be totaled by the insurance company and the insurance on his next one will be steep

 

[vgrinshpun]

Owner getting some press and interview at Computerworld: Tesla Model X autonomously crashes into building, owner claims

Also...

A Tesla spokesperson sent the following statement to electrek.co after reviewing the vehicle’s logs:
"We analyzed the vehicle logs which confirm that this Model X was operating correctly under manual control and was never in Autopilot or cruise control at the time of the incident or in the minutes before. Data shows that the vehicle was traveling at 6 mph when the accelerator pedal was abruptly increased to 100%. Consistent with the driver’s actions, the vehicle applied torque and accelerated as instructed. Safety is the top priority at Tesla and we engineer and build our cars with this foremost in mind. We are pleased that the driver is ok and ask our customers to exercise safe behavior when using our vehicles."

Yep, as I said, they nailed it!

 

[grommet]

I bet his car would be totaled by the insurance company and the insurance on his next one will be steep

That damage isn't even close to totaling a $100K+ vehicle. It's not a cheap repair, though.

 

[xkwizit]

I have been told previously by insurance adjusters that if airbags deploy it's pretty much a done deal for them. You are probably right this being a new car, the repair cost may not add up to the replacement value of the car. Usually insurance companies use a formula to derive replacement value and compare the repair cost to the replacement value and either write you a check for the lower amount and impound the vehicle or mark the vehicle as totaled.

 

[JC86]

While I do tend to believe that this was a case of operator error as opposed to any serious bug in the car itself, I am curious as to the integrity of the drive logs.

In other words, how do we know that Tesla hasn't modified the logs to reflect their preferred narrative of an accident to minimize negative press?

I would like to know, that in the event of a serious accident, is there any way I can download the drive logs onto a USB drive to preserve as evidence? In this case, perhaps an accident deconstructionist can review both your copy of the logs and the version Tesla downloaded from the car to see if they're consistent.

In a more general context, the logs could prove helpful in determining liability in an accident, what speed you were traveling at when the collision occurred, perhaps even the status of the traffic lights due to AP camera etc. I would imagine that law enforcement and attorneys would all love to have access to this sort of information to better determine liability.

 

[JeffK]

While I do tend to believe that this was a case of operator error as opposed to any serious bug in the car itself, I am curious as to the integrity of the drive logs.

In other words, how do we know that Tesla hasn't modified the logs to reflect their preferred narrative of an accident to minimize negative press?

I would like to know, that in the event of a serious accident, is there any way I can download the drive logs onto a USB drive to preserve as evidence? In this case, perhaps an accident deconstructionist can review both your copy of the logs and the version Tesla downloaded from the car to see if they're consistent.

In a more general context, the logs could prove helpful in determining liability in an accident, what speed you were traveling at when the collision occurred, perhaps even the status of the traffic lights due to AP camera etc. I would imagine that law enforcement and attorneys would all love to have access to this sort of information to better determine liability.

Why would they do that and open themselves up to lawsuits etc? That would make no sense.

 

[K-MTG]

If only they had a sunshade, this accident wouldn't have occurred

 

[xkwizit]

While I do tend to believe that this was a case of operator error as opposed to any serious bug in the car itself, I am curious as to the integrity of the drive logs.

In other words, how do we know that Tesla hasn't modified the logs to reflect their preferred narrative of an accident to minimize negative press?

I would like to know, that in the event of a serious accident, is there any way I can download the drive logs onto a USB drive to preserve as evidence? In this case, perhaps an accident deconstructionist can review both your copy of the logs and the version Tesla downloaded from the car to see if they're consistent.

In a more general context, the logs could prove helpful in determining liability in an accident, what speed you were traveling at when the collision occurred, perhaps even the status of the traffic lights due to AP camera etc. I would imagine that law enforcement and attorneys would all love to have access to this sort of information to better determine liability.

@JC86 - consider the logs Tesla pulls as the black box of an airplane. For any evidence to be used legally, the LE has to be able to pull the data themselves or they will work with the manufacturer to pull the data. Any evidence pulled by an individual especially one who is an interested party is not going to meet the needs.