The driver of a semi-autonomous Tesla who was killed after this vehicle hit a 53-foot long truck full of blueberries was repeatedly warned about his driving, a 500-page official report has said.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published scores of documents as part of its ongoing investigation into the death of Joshua David Brown. The death is believed to be the first where a car was in a self-driving mode.
Read more: Tesla's Autopilot is reportedly getting a huge update
The 40-year-old was killed on May 7, 2016, after his Model S 70D vehicle collided with a lorry at an intersection in Florida. At the time, the Tesla was travelling at 74mph, nine miles per hour above the 65mph speed limit, and hit the truck as it was turning left at an intersection.
"Impact with the right side of the semitrailer sheared off the roof of the Tesla," NTSB says in a statement published alongside the documents. After the impact, the Tesla continued to move for 910ft before hitting a pole.
The documents continue that Brown was driving the vehicle in 'Autopilot' mode. This is Tesla's semi-autonomous mode where a vehicle can control itself but it is recommended drivers keep their hands on the wheel.
During the entire journey by Brown, it is said he only had his hands on the wheel for 25 seconds of 37 minutes of driving. His Tesla warned him seven times that he should take hold of the steering wheel. In six of these cases, the warning was made by playing a sound. Brown took "no braking, steering or other actions to avoid the collision" even though the truck should have been visible to him for seven seconds, the documents say.
Since the crash, Tesla has updated its Autopilot system so it disables if drivers do not return their hands to the wheel after they are warned.
The NTSB's documents also cover details of Brown's phone records, interviews with witnesses, details of Florida's roads and factual details about the incident. The NTSB has not completed its investigation and says what is contained shouldn't be considered as an analysis of it final results – these will be issued at a later date.
The new details add to what we already know about the incident. According to a short report in July 2016, Brown's Tesla "struck and passed beneath" the truck. "After exiting from underneath the semitrailer, the car coasted at a shallow angle off the right side of the roadway, travelled approximately 297ft, and then collided with a utility pole", the initial report said.
"The car broke the pole and travelled an additional 50ft, during which it rotated counterclockwise and came to rest perpendicular to the highway in the front yard of a private residence."
When the crash was announced by Tesla, in June 2016, the company offered some possible explanation for the fatality. "Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied," Elon Musk's company said in a blog post.
While the NTSB's investigation is ongoing, a separate look at the crash ruled out any defects in the car. In January 2017, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said no defect in the vehicle had been found and no recalls of the model should take place.
This story has been updated to reflect developments in the NTSB's investigation
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
