NHTSA opens THIRTY-SEVENTH Tesla crash probe after couple from California were killed when their Model 3 smashed into back of Walmart truck in Florida

daily mail ^

[algore]

Safety officials have opened a 37th probe into a Tesla crash after a couple's car slammed into the back of a Walmart truck, shearing its roof off.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the wreck, which happened at the Paynes Prairie Rest Stop just south of Gainesville, Florida, on Wednesday.

Its female driver, aged 66, and her 67 year-old male passenger were killed. The pair were visiting from Lompoc in California, and neither their age nor their relationship to one another has been disclosed, in accordance with Florida state laws.

The Tesla - a 2015 S model - was driving on Interstate-75 souhbound when it exited off the highway onto the rest stop ramp 'for an unknown reason,' Florida Highway Patrol said in statement.

The car then drove through the parking lot where it rear-ended the trailer of a Walmart 18-wheeler, killing the 66-year-old female driver and a 67-year-old male passenger.

Photos from the scene showed the front end of a red Tesla jammed under the overhang of a Walmart trailer, the top end of the car sheared violently back past the car's front doors.

The victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident is the second fatal Tesla crash in a week to be investigated by the NHTSA.

[algore]

This seems to have be a wetware problem, not software.

There seems to be an anti-musk campaign going on right now,but

(I can see how it might have been a hardware-software problem, For example my e32 735i brake switch failed while i had cruise control on, traffic slowed so I hit the brake, but the car fought me hard to keep going the previously designated speed.)

I had no idea wtf and the harder i pushed the brake the more the car accelerated and the vacuum was soon gone from the brake booster which made things worse.

I felt like a 737max pilot until i turned the ignition off

[BobL]

“This seems to have be a wetware problem, not software.”

Like that crash a long time ago in Florida (who was watching movie). When enough people get needlessly decapitated, they’ll work on getting the ‘bugs’ out of the code.

[Inyo-Mono]

Scary, I sure am glad that I have a mostly mechanical Jeep, stick shift, hand cranked windows, etc.

[jarwulf]

yup, there is no proof autopilot was involved and even if it was tesla clearly states that autopilot is not a full autonomous system anyways, its heavily emphasized to be a product in development. This is more Musk FUD, (I hate to use a crypto word but it really fits here) to replace him with a more pliable ‘visionary’

[DannyTN]

It’s Florida.
It was distracted by a girl in a bikini.
Could happen to anyone.

[Dr. Sivana]

I had to look up your car. It is a luxury BMW. Very nice. Few full sized cars are made today. Just needs a bigger trunk.

[dynoman]

They’re on track to make 1 million cars per year. I wonder how their accident rate compares to other manufacturers.

[Gene Eric]

>> I hate to use a crypto word but it really fits here

It does

[George from New England]

Girl driver distracted by girl in Bikini in Florida. That’s a California trend, not Florida.

[SPDSHDW]

If your jeep has hand crank windows you’re doin’ it wrong ;)

These tesla crash bs is why I love my YJ. Easy to fix and all mechanical.

Only computer is the pcm, which were not prone to easy failure on these.

[Track9]

I hope greasy Newsome notices another Californian in Florida.

[PeterPrinciple]

Tesla insists drivers should keep their hands on the car’s wheel at all times and be ready to take over in the event of an emergency

---

it a cruise control, not auto pilot................

[SmokingJoe]

The same NHTSA reported that there were 6.74 million police-reported car accidents in the United States in 2019, which makes for approximately 17 thousand car accidents in the United States daily. 6 percent of 2019 car accidents suffered at least one fatality, with 99 deaths in 2019.
And they are making noise about a mere 37 Tesla accidents?

[SmokingJoe]

It’s in BETA.

[Joe Brower]

"Safety officials have opened a 37th probe into a Tesla crash"

Am I reading that right? 'Safety officials' have examined this event 36 times previously? And found nothing, hence #37?

At what point do they give up?

[small farm girl]

"The Tesla - a 2015 S model - was driving on Interstate-75 souhbound when it exited off the highway onto the rest stop ramp 'for an unknown reason,' Florida Highway Patrol said in statement. The car then drove through the parking lot where it rear-ended the trailer of a Walmart.."
So it is the car's fault...just like the gun when it goes up and shoots someone. Anyone else think that was weird?

[Inyo-Mono]

If your jeep has hand crank windows you’re doin’ it wrong ;)

Lol! I do take the doors and top off in Summer. Mine's a TJ.

[Libloather]

On June 28th, 1967, actress Jayne Mansfield, her driver, her lawyer and three of her kids were driving to New Orleans for an interview after an appearance in Mississippi. While cruising along the highway at two o'clock in the morning, the driver didn't see a semi-truck that had slowed because of a mosquito fogging truck ahead -- the fog masked the big rig's trailer, and Mansfield's driver couldn't react in time to slow the 1966 Buick Electra 225. The car slid under the semi-trailer and Mansfield and the other adults didn’t survive.

Known technically as the Rear Underrun Protection System, the steel tubular bars immediately gained the name Mansfield bars: likely due to the gruesome severity of the crash, and Mansfield’s star status. Following her death, the U.S. government mandated trailers have a rear bumper to help prevent similar deaths.

[algore]

trunk is ok sized, enough for a few skeletons anyway

I have had pre GM Saab hatchbacks, couches go in those.

there are only a few decent hatches today.

I thought about a Tesla, but tracking and Hysteresis make it a no for me

Possibly the bmw 3 series GT is the best, the Kia Stinger cannot fit a couch.

the first gen Volt cannot fit a couch but might be interesting if the price were really cheap and I could find an ALR ecu

I saw a new Audi RS7 today that I really liked, no couch but still tempting

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Jayne Mansfield’s children, Mariska Hargitay and her two brothers, were in the back seat of that car and survived.