![]() ![]() In its response to the Banner family’s complaint, Tesla said, “The record does not reveal anything that went awry with Mr. Tesla did not respond to multiple requests for comment. “Someone is definitely hurt.” The Subaru driver later died of his injuries, as did a baby in the back seat of the Tesla, according to the California Highway Patrol. “It was, like, head on,” according to a 911 call from the incident obtained by The Post. In July, a Tesla rammed into a Subaru Impreza in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The Tesla driver was under the influence of alcohol during the crash, according to the police report. In February, a Tesla on Autopilot smashed into a firetruck in Walnut Creek, Calif., killing the driver. Teslas guided by Autopilot have slammed on the brakes at high speeds without clear cause, accelerated or lurched from the road without warning and crashed into parked emergency vehicles displaying flashing lights, according to investigation and police reports obtained by The Post. While the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spell out everything from how a car’s brakes should operate to where its lights should be located, they offer little guidance about vehicle software. Four years later, despite pleas from safety investigators, regulators in Washington have outlined no clear plan to address those shortcomings, allowing the Autopilot experiment to continue to play out on American roads, with little federal intervention. However, the NTSB also cited Banner’s “overreliance on automation,” saying Tesla’s design “permitted disengagement by the driver” and contributed to the crash. The NTSB investigation determined that Banner’s inattention and the truck driver’s failure to fully yield to oncoming traffic were probable causes of the crash. ![]() In Banner’s case, the technology failed repeatedly, his family’s lawyers argue, from when it didn’t brake to when it didn’t issue a warning about the semi-truck in the car’s path.ĭue to the uncertainty of Banner’s movements in the car, The Post did not depict him in the reconstruction. That argument is echoed in several Autopilot-related cases, where plaintiffs say they believed Tesla’s claims that Autopilot was “safer than a human-operated vehicle.”Ī Washington Post analysis of federal data found that vehicles guided by Autopilot have been involved in more than 700 crashes, at least 19 of them fatal, since its introduction in 2014, including the Banner crash. Along with former transportation officials and other experts, they say the company’s marketing of Autopilot exaggerates its capabilities, creating a false sense of complacency that can lead to deadly crashes. He agreed to Tesla’s terms and conditions of operating on Autopilot and was provided with an owner’s manual, which together warn of the technology’s limitations and state that the driver is ultimately responsible for the trajectory of the car.īut lawyers for Banner’s family say Tesla should shoulder some responsibility for the crash. Multiple verdicts against the company, however, could threaten both Tesla’s reputation and its financial viability.Īccording to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Banner, a 50-year-old father of four, should have been watching the road on that March morning. If Tesla prevails, the company could continue deploying the evolving technology with few legal consequences or regulatory guardrails. ![]() The outcome could prove critical for Tesla, which has pushed increasingly capable driver-assistance technology onto the nation’s roadways far more rapidly than any other major carmaker. Together, the cases could determine whether the driver is solely responsible when things go wrong in a vehicle guided by Autopilot - or whether the software should also bear some of the blame. Banner was killed on impact.īanner’s family sued after the gruesome 2019 collision, one of at least 10 active lawsuits involving Tesla’s Autopilot, several of which are expected to go to court over the next year. Seconds later, the Tesla plowed into a semi-truck, shearing off its roof as it slid under the truck’s trailer. His red Tesla Model 3 sped down the highway at nearly 70 mph, his hands no longer detected on the wheel. The sun had yet to rise in Delray Beach, Fla., when Jeremy Banner flicked on Autopilot.
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