In the US state of Florida, a Tesla with its partially automated driving system crashed into a police car.
The police car stopped just before 5:00 a.m. on a freeway near central Orlando on Saturday to help out a third vehicle.
The officer who had activated the emergency lights in his car was taken by the Tesla when it hit his vehicle and the vehicle he was servicing.
According to police, the 27-year-old Tesla driver and the driver of the vehicle the officer was helping were lightly injured.
The officer was not injured.
Tesla has not commented on the incident.
It comes when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigates Tesla’s autopilot driving system after a series of similar collisions.
Since 2018, there have been at least 11 accidents attributed to Tesla’s autopilot or cruise control in which a car hit emergency vehicles.
This happened despite the fact that first responders used flashlights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, or road cones.
Seventeen people were injured in the accidents and one was killed.
The ongoing investigation could lead to cars being recalled or otherwise enforced.
Tesla uses a camera-based system, computers and sometimes radar to detect and identify obstacles and then instruct the vehicle.
However, there were concerns that there might be issues with parked ambulances and vertical trucks on its way.
Autopilot was also sometimes abused by drivers – some got drunk driving or even caught in the back seat while the car was in motion.
