Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 28 May 2018

APNewsBreak: Tesla in Autopilot mode sped up before crashing

By JULIAN HATTEM ment agreement in a fed-
Associated Press eral lawsuit alleging that
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A it sold Autopilot features
Tesla that crashed while in that weren’t available and
Autopilot mode in Utah this made its vehicles danger-
month accelerated in the ous, according to court
seconds before it smashed records released Thursday
into a stopped firetruck, by the U.S. District Court in
according to a police re- San Jose. Neither Tesla nor
port obtained by The As- Seattle attorney Steve Ber-
sociated Press. Two people man, who represented the
were injured. plaintiffs, would comment
Data from the Model S Friday.
electric vehicle show it But Tesla said previously
picked up speed for 3.5 that since rolling out its
seconds before crashing second generation of Au-
into the firetruck in subur- topilot, it has continued to
ban Salt Lake City, the re- update software leading
port said. The driver manu- to major improvements.
ally hit the brakes a frac- The company has said that
tion of a second before it agreed to compensate
impact. Police suggested customers who purchased
that the car was follow- Autopilot and had to wait
ing another vehicle and longer than expected to
dropped its speed to 55 get all of its features.
mph (89 kph) to match the Tesla’s Autopilot has been
leading vehicle. They say In this Friday, May 11, 2018, file photo released by the South Jordan Police Department shows a the subject of previous scru-
the leading vehicle then traffic collision involving a Tesla Model S sedan with a Fire Department mechanic truck stopped tiny following other crashes
likely changed lanes and at a red light in South Jordan, Utah. involving the vehicles.
the Tesla automatically Associated Press In March, a driver was killed
sped up to its preset speed about the vehicle’s ac- Thursday. but did not go to a hospital. when a Model X with Auto-
of 60 mph (97 kph) without tions immediately before Tesla referred to a prior Tesla’s Autopilot system pilot engaged hit a barrier
noticing the stopped cars the May 11 crash and the comment that drivers are uses cameras, ultrasonic while traveling at “freeway
ahead. driver’s familiarity with its continually reminded to sensors and radar to sense speed” in California. NHTSA
The police report, which system. keep their hands on the the vehicle’s surrounding and the National Transpor-
was obtained Thursday The driver of the vehicle, wheel and maintain con- environment and perform tation Safety Board are in-
through an open records Heather Lommatzsch, 29, trol of their vehicle at all basic functions automati- vestigating that case.
request, provides detail told police she thought times while using the Auto- cally. Among those func- This week, Tesla said Au-
the vehicle’s automatic pilot system. tions is automatic emer- topilot was not engaged
emergency braking system “Tesla has always been gency braking, which the when a Model S veered off
would detect traffic and clear that Autopilot doesn’t company says on its web- a road and plunged into a
stop before the car hit an- make the car impervious to site is designed “to detect pond outside San Francis-
other vehicle. all accidents,” it said. objects that the car may co, killing the driver.
She said she owned the Police say car data show impact and applies the Earlier in May, the NTSB
car for two years and used Lommatzsch did not touch brakes accordingly.” Tesla opened a probe into an
the semi-autonomous Au- the steering wheel for 80 says the system is not de- accident in which a Model
topilot feature on all kinds seconds before the crash. signed to avoid a collision S caught fire after crashing
of roadways, including the She told police she was and warns drivers not to into a wall at a high speed
Utah highway where she looking at her phone and rely on it entirely. in Florida. Two 18-year-olds
crashed, according to the comparing different routes The National Highway Traf- were trapped and died in
report. to her destination. fic Safety Administration the blaze. The agency has
Lommatzsch said the car She broke her foot in the has said it is investigating said it does not expect Au-
did not provide any audio crash and this week was the May 11 crash. topilot to be a focus in that
or visual warnings before charged with a misde- Tesla reached a settle- investigation.q
the crash. A witness told meanor traffic citation. On-
police she did not see signs line court records do not
the car illuminate its brake show an attorney listed for
lights or swerve to avoid her.
the truck ahead of it. The driver of the firetruck
Lommatzsch did not return told police he had injuries
a voicemail message on consistent with whiplash