Tesla Faces Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit After Autopilot Fails
The grieving family of a motorcyclist who was killed in 2022 following a crash with a Tesla Model 3 on Autopilot in Utah has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tesla and the vehicle’s driver, claiming that the driver assistant software and other safety features are “defective and inadequate.” The 34-year-old decedent died at the scene after the Model 3 struck the back of his Harley Davidson motorcycle, throwing him from the bike. According to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, the Model 3 was on Autopilot at the time of the accident and traveling around 75-80 miles per hour.
According to the lawsuit, the driver of the Model 3 was “tired” while he was driving and “not in a condition to drive as an ordinarily prudent driver.” The complaint further states that the Autopilot’s sensors and cameras “should have identified the hazard posed by the decedent’s motorcycle in its presence.”
“A reasonably prudent driver, or adequate auto braking system, would have, and could have slowed or stopped without colliding with the motorcycle,” the complaint alleged.
This isn’t the first time a Tesla vehicle has killed a motorcyclist. A Tesla Model S car was in “Full Self-Driving” mode when it hit and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist from the Seattle area in April of last year.
Tesla was in “full self-driving mode” when it struck and killed motorcyclist
A Tesla Model S car was in “Full Self-Driving” mode when it hit and killed a motorcyclist in Seattle. This was the second fatal accident involving the self-driving technology that made Tesla famous. The 56-year-old driver was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide after admitting that he was looking at his cell phone while using the driver assistant feature.
According to Tesla, the “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software requires active driver supervision and does not make the vehicles truly autonomous. Previously, the NHTSA said there was one fatal accident involving a Tesla vehicle using FSD software. The NHTSA issued a statement saying they are aware of the crash and actively investigating the situation.
Motorcycles can be hard to detect
As motorcycles are smaller vehicles, they can be more difficult for the FSD software to detect. This is true for human drivers as well. Often, human drivers, not keeping an active lookout, fail to spot the smaller vehicles. Several accidents are caused by drivers not paying attention to the road and making poor choices. This is why the Tesla autopilot software requires an active human supervisor to ensure that the autopilot is functioning properly. In this case, the defendant driver was not paying attention to the road and the autopilot made a fatal mistake.
Talk to a Tulsa, Oklahoma Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today
The Tulsa motorcycle accident attorneys at Levinson Law, P.C. represent the interests of injured parties in motorcycle accidents. Call our Tulsa personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your crash right away.
Sources:
reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-sued-by-family-motorcyclist-killed-autopilot-crash-2024-08-02/
reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-was-full-self-driving-mode-when-it-hit-killed-seattle-motorcylist-police-2024-07-31/
