Tesla’s self-driving cars under probe after fatal crash

 New York, July 1 

Ths US authorities have launched an investigation after the tragic death of a man driving electric automobile-maker Tesla’s autonomous car in a crash — the first known fatal accident involving a self-driving vehicle being driven in autopilot mode.

Joshua Brown, 40, of Ohio was killed when his Tesla Model S electric sedan crashed into a tractor-trailer while reportedly in autopilot mode.

Preliminary investigation indicated that the crash took place when the tractor-trailer made a turn in front of the Tesla and the car failed to apply the brakes, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.

The NHTSA added that nearly 25,000 Tesla Model S sedans that are equipped with the autopilot system have been put under investigation.

“What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly-lit sky, so the brake was not applied,” Tesla said.

However, the company also said that “this is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles”. IANS