A Tesla Model S operating on Autopilot crashed into a stationary fire truck on Interstate 405 in California while the driver was eating breakfast and not paying attention to the road.
On January 22, 2018, a 2014 Tesla Model S P85 crashed into Culver City Fire Department Engine 42 on Interstate 405 in Culver City, California. The Tesla was operating in Autopilot mode when it struck the fire truck, which was parked diagonally across the southbound HOV lane with emergency lights flashing while responding to another crash. The 47-year-old driver was having coffee and a bagel during the incident and did not have his hands on the steering wheel. According to NTSB investigation, during the final 13 minutes and 48 seconds before the crash, the driver had his hands on the wheel for only 51 seconds and received multiple 'Place Hands on the Wheel' alerts. When a vehicle in front changed lanes to avoid the fire truck, the Tesla remained in the HOV lane and accelerated from 21 mph to 31 mph before impact. The forward collision warning activated 0.49 seconds before impact, but automatic emergency braking did not engage. No injuries were reported, but the Tesla was declared a total loss. The NTSB determined the probable cause was the driver's inattention and overreliance on Autopilot, combined with the system's design that permitted driver disengagement.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that fail to perform reliably or effectively under varying conditions, exposing them to errors and failures that can have significant consequences, especially in critical applications or areas that require moral reasoning.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed