Photo: WFTV
Just weeks following a Tesla Model 3 crash with a state trooper in Orlando, Florida while Autopilot was engaged, footage of the accident has surfaced and was shared on Thursday by one news outlet.
New footage of the crash was shared by WFTV on Thursday, showing the white Model 3 as it collides with the Florida state trooper, parked on the shoulder of the highway. The accident took place along I-4 just outside of Downtown Orlando and took place in the early morning on August 28, and the driver later claimed that Autopilot had been engaged.
The Model 3 hits the trooper’s Dodge Charger, then spins into the SUV that was blocking the highway, which troopers were helping to remove. Luckily, no one was hurt or killed.
The 26-year old female driver was ticketed for failing to move over and had no major injuries, walking away from the crash.
According to Lt. Kim Montes, Public Affairs Officer, Florida Highway Patrol, she told ClickOrlando.com, “even if this car did or did not have a malfunction of the self assisted driving, that driver is ultimately responsible to maneuver that vehicle away from any danger, and she is in control of that vehicle. And Tesla even says that in their owner’s manual.”
U.S. Regulator Seeks Assistance From 12 Other Automakers in Tesla Investigation https://t.co/c1024wlfYe
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) September 14, 2021
The news comes following a recent investigation opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into Tesla’s Autopilot, after a string of crashes into parked emergency response vehicles. The Orlando incident was added as the 12th accident to 11 others that took place with Autopilot engaged since 2018.
Tesla will have until October 22 to respond or seek an extension to the NHTSA’s questions in the investigation.
Tesla responded recently by adding emergency vehicle safety features for nighttime in its recent update to the manual, adding signals for the driver and causing the vehicle to automatically slow down.
Earlier this week, MIT reported on a study it conducted saying to Tesla’s Autopilot was not being used as recommended.
