It seems the world needs to be reminded now and then that regardless of the assists or automated driving features available on your car, you are still accountable for what your vehicle does. A Tesla Model S owner in California has learned this lesson the hard way, as The Mercury News reports that said Tesla driver rear-ended a fire truck on the highway, and its driver extended the finger of blame at Autopilot.
The collision occurred around 8:30 a.m. Monday morning, on Interstate 405 in Culver City, California. The fire engine was at the scene of a prior accident when the Model S smashed into it, damaging the truck severely enough to warrant its temporary removal from service. No injuries have yet been reported, but we suspect some egos will be bruised in short order.
This is not the first accident in which Autopilot has been blamed by drivers as the cause of the crash. In 2016, a former Navy SEAL was killed when his speeding Model S drove under a semi truck, but the driver received numerous warnings from the vehicle prior to the fatal crash, all but absolving Tesla.
More recently, a Minnesota driver accused the Autopilot system in his Model S of pitching the car into a marsh, but the driver’s statement blaming the car was later retracted.
Over the weekend, another Tesla driver was pulled over for suspected DUI, but he too blamed Autopilot for the road activity that got him jailed. Too bad for him that drivers are still legally responsible for their vehicles, and being drunk behind the wheel at all is asking for trouble.