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NTSB Concludes Tesla Crashed In May Was Speeding, The Investigation Continues

The NTSB has released its initial report on the fatal Tesla Model S accident that occurred on May 7, 2016.
Tesla Model S after the fatal accident on May 7, 2016, in Florida 6 photos
Photo: NTSB/Florida Highway Patrol
Tesla Autopilot in actionTesla Model S drives itself out of garageTesla Model S instrument cluster with Autopilot displayTesla Model S on roadTesla Model S driving with Autopilot
The first thing that pops up in the release is the fact that the vehicle was driving over the road’s speed limit at the time of impact. While the posted speed limit was 65 mph (104 km/h), the Model S was doing 74 mph when it crashed into a tractor trailer (119 km/h).

While some might argue that a nine-mph (14.5 km/h) difference in the velocity of a vehicle might not make a change in the case of an emergency situation, this popular opinion is not shared by statistic data.

Tesla downloaded the full logs from the vehicle, and they discovered that the car was operated using the traffic-aware cruise control system, as well as the Autosteer lane keeping assistance system.

Furthermore, the vehicle in question featured an autonomous emergency braking system that was supposed to activate the brakes automatically in the case of an imminent frontal collision, so that it could mitigate or even avoid damage and injuries.

Federal investigators will continue their inquiry, and the speed of travel will be considered a factor in the causes of this accident. If some of you have not noticed this, Tesla’s Autopilot lets drivers exceed posted speed limits even if it is entirely aware of restrictions applied on the roadways where it is available.

We must note that investigators found that the vehicle had disengaged the battery from the electric motors after the initial impact, and that the distance traveled after driving under the trailer was because of the velocity of the vehicle. The impact happened at an angle of 90 degrees between the vehicle and the trailer, and the latter only showed minor collision damage.

The NTSB has mentioned that all aspects of the accident will remain under investigation, and Tesla Motors will cooperate with the NTSB, NHTSA, and the Florida Highway Patrol to close this investigation properly.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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