According to the fire department in Chiayi County, a city in the southwest of the country, the two drivers were not injured and refused to go to the hospital. Check out the accident scenes in the Taiwanese TV report:
The Taiwan Highway Police Department reported that the Tesla Model 3 belongs to a 53-year-old driver. At the time of the accident, the vehicle’s autopilot was activated and it ran at a speed of 110 km / h. As said, when seeing the truck overturned, the driver used the emergency brakes. In the images of the report it is possible to see white smoke coming from the tires at the moment. However, he failed to stop in time to avoid a collision. The most surprising thing is that the airbags were not deployed in the collision with the other vehicle. Despite the crash, it is possible to believe that the car still managed to slow down enough to prevent the driver from being injured from the accident.
Other similar accidents
As the North American website InsideEvs points out, this is not the first time that Tesla’s autopilot fails to detect another vehicle stopped ahead. In 2018, in the U.S., a Model S vehicle crashed into the back of a fire truck in the middle of traffic. As in Taiwan, the driver used the autopilot and the car did not stop before it collided with the obstacle ahead. However, the driver admitted that she was using the phone when the accident happened. It is worth noting that Tesla states on its website that “the autopilot and the total ability to drive are designed for use with a fully attentive driver. He must keep his hands on the wheel and be prepared to take charge at any time ”.
