http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2016/07/11/another-tesla-veers-off-road-crashes-into-guardrail-montana/86956048/ Another Tesla veers off road, crashes into guardrail in Montana July 11, 2016 Greg Gardner
[image / AutoGuide.com http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2016/07/11/DetroitFreePress/DetroitFreePress/636038504510731415-Tesla-Model-X-Crash.jpg Tesla Model X Crash ] Another Tesla Model X driver and his passenger escaped injury in a one-vehicle accident near the small town of Whitehall, Mont., early Sunday morning, according to the state trooper who responded to the incident. In another matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Tesla violated securities law by failing to disclose more quickly a fatal accident in Florida in May involving a Tesla Model S that was in self-driving mode. Regarding the Montana accident, Trooper Jade Schope of the Montana Highway Patrol declined to identify either the driver or passenger, but he did say the driver said he activated the car's Autopilot driver assist system at the beginning of the trip. "That's what he stated. I have no way of verifying whether it was or wasn't," Schope said. "He also stated that he was driving from Seattle to West Yellowstone, Mont." The accident occurred after midnight Sunday morning after the driver had gotten off I-90 near Whitehall, Schope said. Tesla told regulators of crash 9 days later There was a sharp drop-off from the two-lane Highway 55 when the driver told Schope the car began veering to the right where it hit a wooden guardrail. The driver was able to stop the vehicle before it left the road completely. "He lost the right front wheel and there was extensive damage to the front of the vehicle," Schope said. This is the third case reported in the last two weeks involving a Tesla vehicle involved in a one-vehicle accident that may or may not have involved the Autopilot semi-autonomous feature. Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, died May 7 in Williston, Fla., when his Tesla Model S car's Autopilot system failed to detect a tractor-trailer turning in front of the luxury electric car. The accident investigation found that Brown had been playing a Harry Potter video in his car at the time of the fatal crash. On July 1, well-known Southfield art dealer Albert Scaglione and his son-in-law, Tim Yanke, were injured when Scaglione's Tesla Model X hit a guardrail along the Pennsylvania Turnpike near the town of Bedford. It then crossed over several lanes before hitting a concrete median and rolled onto its roof. Scaglione told a Pennsylvania State Police trooper that the car was operating in Autopilot mode. It is unclear whether driver error contributed to the crash, but the Pennsylvania State Police have cited Scaglione for careless driving, according to a report released Monday. Southfield art gallery owner survives Tesla crash Tesla Motors said it was notified of air bag deployment in Scaglione's car but damage to the vehicle was so severe that the manufacturer never received detailed information on the state of the vehicle's controls. Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said the company was aware of the Montana accident and is looking into it. Separately, Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on Twitter Sunday to say he’s working on another “Top Secret Tesla Masterplan.” He said he hoped to publish details this week. Tesla also said last week that shipments to customers fell in the past three months, making it unlikely the California-based firm would meet expectations for delivering 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year. Musk ran into criticism for Tesla’s bid of up to $2.5 billion last month for the financially troubled firm SolarCity, which installs solar panels and is run by Musk’s cousin, Lyndon Rive. [© freep.com] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-11/pennsylvania-state-police-cite-tesla-owner-for-careless-driving-iqifx9ms Tesla Driver Cited in Pennsylvania Crash Amid Autopilot Scrutiny July 11, 2016 Dana Hull [video flash] Pennsylvania State Police cited the driver of a Tesla Motors Inc. sport utility vehicle involved in a July 1 crash that may have involved Autopilot technology for careless driving, according to a report released Monday. Meanwhile, another Tesla driver has told Montana police that Autopilot was engaged during an accident that occurred on Saturday. Tesla’s Autopilot features, which are available on more than 70,000 vehicles worldwide, have come under intense scrutiny in the wake of a fatal accident in Florida. In May, 40-year-old Joshua Brown of Ohio was killed when his Tesla Model S drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler on a highway near Williston, Florida. In a blog post, Tesla stressed that the crash was the first known fatality in more than 130 million miles of Autopilot driving, compared to 94 million miles for all cars. The crash has also raised questions as to why Tesla didn’t disclose the fatality to investors before raising money to expand production and proposing an acquisition of SolarCity. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC is investigating Tesla for possible securities law breach. “Tesla has not received any communication from the SEC regarding this issue,” said a Tesla spokeswoman in an e-mail Monday. Michigan driver Albert Scaglione, 77, suffered injuries when his 2016 Tesla Model X SUV struck a concrete median strip on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford County and rolled onto its roof, coming to rest in the middle of the roadway. Scaglione has not responded to numerous phone calls for comment. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week that it’s “collecting information” from state police, the automaker and the driver to ascertain “whether automated functions were in use at the time.” The Detroit Free Press had quoted a police officer saying the driver told him the so-called Autopilot system was engaged when the accident occurred. The state police report released Monday doesn’t mention whether the system was in use. On July 9, an unidentified driver and passenger were traveling on Highway 2 east of Whitehall, Montana, when their Model X veered to the right and struck a guardrail. There were no injuries, but the right side of the electric vehicle was heavily damaged. “He stated it was on Autopilot,” said Montana State Trooper Jade Shope in an interview Monday. “I can’t confirm that.” NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas declined to comment on whether the agency would add the Montana crash to its Tesla Autopilot investigation. NHTSA frequently expands its reviews to include other incidents if they are deemed relevant. Autopilot -- Tesla’s name for its driver-assistance system that maintains a vehicle’s position in a well-marked lane and adjusts speed to match surrounding traffic -- are still in so-called beta testing. Drivers have to actively engage Autopilot, and the vehicles warn motorists to keep their hands on the wheel. “Point of calling it ‘beta’ was to emphasize to those who chose to use it that it wasn’t perfect,” Musk said on Twitter. [© bloomberg.com] http://www.wtsp.com/tech/tesla-veers-off-road-crashes-into-guardrail-in-montana/270081071 Tesla veers off road, crashes into guardrail in Montana July 11, 2016 Greg Gardner Another Tesla Model X driver and his passenger escaped injury in a one-vehicle accident near the small town of Whitehall, Mont., early Sunday morning, according to the state trooper who responded to the incident. In another matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Tesla violated securities law by failing to disclose more quickly a fatal accident in Florida in May involving a Tesla Model S that was in self-driving mode. Regarding the Montana accident, Trooper Jade Schope of the Montana Highway Patrol declined to identify either the driver or passenger, but he did say the driver said he activated the car's Autopilot driver assist system at the beginning of the trip. "That's what he stated. I have no way of verifying whether it was or wasn't," Schope said. "He also stated that he was driving from Seattle to West Yellowstone, Mont." The accident occurred after midnight Sunday morning after the driver had gotten off I-90 near Whitehall, Schope said. There was a sharp drop-off from the two-lane Highway 55 when the driver told Schope the car began veering to the right where it hit a wooden guardrail. The driver was able to stop the vehicle before it left the road completely. "He lost the right front wheel and there was extensive damage to the front of the vehicle," Schope said. This is the third case reported in the last two weeks involving a Tesla vehicle involved in a one-vehicle accident that may or may not have involved the Autopilot semi-autonomous feature. Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, died May 7 in Williston, Fla., when his Tesla Model S car's Autopilot system failed to detect a tractor-trailer turning in front of the luxury electric car. The accident investigation found that Brown had been playing a Harry Potter video in his car at the time of the fatal crash. On July 1, well-known Southfield art dealer Albert Scaglione and his son-in-law, Tim Yanke, were injured when Scaglione's Tesla Model X hit a guardrail along the Pennsylvania Turnpike near the town of Bedford. It then crossed over several lanes before hitting a concrete median and rolled onto its roof. Scaglione told a Pennsylvania State Police trooper that the car was operating in Autopilot mode. It is unclear whether driver error contributed to the crash, but the Pennsylvania State Police have cited Scaglione for careless driving, according to a report released Monday. [© 2016 WTSP-TV] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Tesla-X-EV-veers-off-MT-road-crashes-into-guardrail-Autopilot-use-unconfirmed-tp4682896.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
