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Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot Crashes Against Emergency Vehicle in Taiwan

Tesla said a software update would fix the issues with its heat pumps. It didn’t. The company also tried to dismiss an NHTSA investigation for crashing against emergency vehicles on Autopilot with another OTA (over-the-air) update. A wreck in Taiwan shows the new software probably did not resolve the situation either.
Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot hits an emergency vehicle in Taiwan after OTA update that fixed that 6 photos
Photo: National Highway Police Bureau
Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot hits an emergency vehicle in Taiwan after OTA update that fixed thatTesla Model 3 on Autopilot hits an emergency vehicle in Taiwan after OTA update that fixed thatTesla Model 3 on Autopilot hits an emergency vehicle in Taiwan after OTA update that fixed thatTesla Model 3 on Autopilot hits an emergency vehicle in Taiwan after OTA update that fixed thatTesla Model 3 on Autopilot hits an emergency vehicle in Taiwan after OTA update that fixed that
On March 7, a Tesla Model 3 was driving on the National Highway 3 near the Daxi Interchange in Taoyuan City. His driver activated Autopilot and later confessed to the police that he was doing other things in the car and did not pay attention to the road anymore. A while later, the vehicle failed to detect the road repair truck against which it crashed at 9:51 PM, local time. The Model 3 spun to the middle of the road.

According to UDN and the pictures shared by the National Highway Police Bureau, it was a bright yellow truck with large reflectors. It also had a digital warning sign to prevent precisely what happened with the Model 3. The 46-year-old Tesla driver reportedly only hurt his hand in the crash. His last name is Jiang.

The road engineer at the location tried to protect the middle lanes by placing crash warnings before the crashed Tesla as soon as possible. About 20 seconds after that, a BMW driver also named Jiang failed to see the sign and hit the engineer and the Tesla. The road engineer died. His name was Yu.

In this case, the fatal victim was not a direct responsibility of the Tesla vehicle. Ironically, it was a preventable situation had the BMW driver paid due attention to the road conditions just as much as the Tesla driver. Distracted driving is a massive problem all over the world with nasty consequences. Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done to prevent it apart from more rigorous driver training. It is not under investigation. Tesla Autopilot is.

Theoretically, the system should be able to see a bright yellow emergency truck right in front of it. It should be able to brake the car to prevent a crash. Above all, it should not allow a driver to feel so confident it will handle everything to the point this person confesses to the police that was exactly the case.

Soon after Tesla released the software update that was supposed to prevent its vehicles from crashing against emergency vehicles, its advocates and investors started asking if the press would write about that and about how fast the company “solved” the problem. Rest assured that you will not hear them talk about this crash in Taiwan or similar situations in other countries, especially if it happens again in the U.S.

NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) allowed that to happen 11 times, 7 of which ended up with injured people and one dead. Unfortunately, this case in Taiwan is out of NHTSA’s jurisdiction, which does not prevent the safety agency from contacting Taiwan’s National Highway Police Bureau to understand what happened at the National Highway 3 on March 7. Let’s hope international cooperation is not an issue in this case.

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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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