Tesla driver says he was asleep and using FSD when he crashed into patrol cars
A Tesla struck a parked California Highway Patrol vehicle in California, seriously injuring two officers. The driver said he was asleep and using a driver-assist system.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has released video of a Tesla speeding past flares, cones and emergency lights on Interstate 80 in California, USA, and slamming into the back of a parked patrol vehicle. Two officers who were working at the scene of an earlier accident were seriously injured and taken to hospital. The driver reportedly said he was asleep and using the driver-assist mode at the time.
Following the crash, the CHP reminded the public that, despite its name, full self-driving (FSD) is not fully autonomous, and that the technology does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to operate their vehicles safely.
Earlier investigations
Tesla's driver-assist systems have already drawn scrutiny from US regulators. After a number of collisions with parked emergency vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into the company's Autopilot software in 2021. The agency later issued a report concluding that the driver-assist features did not do enough to keep drivers engaged. It linked them to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths in which neither the system nor the driver responded.
In 2023, Tesla released an Autopilot update that added more controls and alerts intended to prompt drivers to stay in full control of the car when Autosteer is enabled. NHTSA nevertheless had to open another investigation into whether those changes went far enough.
The source does not say exactly when the crash happened or what condition the injured officers are in. The driver's claim about being asleep and using the system is, for now, only his own statement.
