特斯拉公司的一輛Model 3卷入了3月1日發(fā)生在佛羅里達州的慘烈撞車案。美國國家運輸安全委員會稱，當時該車由半自主自動駕駛系統(tǒng)操控，而且駕駛員的雙手脫離了方向盤。

美國國家運輸安全委員會在上周四發(fā)布的一份初步調查報告中稱，這輛車在德爾雷比奇與一輛橫穿高速公路的半卡車側面相撞，駕駛員當場死亡。美國國家運輸安全委員會還表示，很明顯，駕駛員在撞車前8秒的時間內并沒有操控汽車。

報告稱：“最初的車輛數(shù)據(jù)顯示，特斯拉撞上半卡車時正在以68英里的時速行駛。初期數(shù)據(jù)或視頻都未顯示駕駛員或ADAS執(zhí)行了規(guī)避操作。”

特斯拉的ADAS全稱是高級駕駛員輔助系統(tǒng)。美國國家運輸安全委員會調取的視頻來自于現(xiàn)場附近記錄了碰撞的監(jiān)控攝像頭，以及特斯拉用于幫助自身操控和執(zhí)行其他功能的視頻設備。

特斯拉在一封電子郵件聲明中表示：“我們對這場事故表示深切哀悼，而且我們向所有受此悲劇影響的人表示慰問。”特斯拉稱，公司在核查了汽車的電腦化數(shù)據(jù)日志后發(fā)現(xiàn)自動駕駛功能被激活，并將此事告知了美國國家運輸安全委員會和美國國家高速公路交通安全管理局。

此次車禍是美國國家運輸安全委員會調查的最新一起特斯拉車禍，而且與2016年的車禍有著驚人的相似之處，當時，一輛Model S撞到了卡車側面，并未采取任何制動措施。

在那場慘烈的車禍中，美國國家運輸安全委員會發(fā)現(xiàn)，特斯拉自動駕駛系統(tǒng)的設計對于車禍負有部分責任，而且向特斯拉和其他制造商提出了兩點建議，以改善這類半自主自動駕駛工具的安全性。

美國國家運輸安全委員會還發(fā)現(xiàn)，汽車感應器的設計初衷并未考慮識別卡車的側面，因此也就沒有對車輛減速。

前美國海軍獵豹特種部隊的約書亞·布朗在2016年3月的車禍中喪生，事發(fā)4個月之后，特斯拉的首席執(zhí)行官埃隆·馬斯克與記者舉行了電話會議，介紹了新版的自動駕駛軟件。他在當時表示，公司對駕駛員輔助系統(tǒng)的雷達組件進行了升級，升級后，感應器應該能夠偵測到半卡車。

美國國家運輸安全委員會有關3月1日碰撞的初步報告并未表明該車的感應器在車輛靠近卡車時都偵測到了什么。

安全委員會還調查了2018年在加州發(fā)生的另外一起與自動駕駛有關的車禍致死案。在該案中，Model X撞上了高速公路障礙實體，導致駕駛員死亡。

在事故發(fā)生之后，美國國家運輸安全委員會的調查員還就多起自燃事件調查了特斯拉電池的運行狀況。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

A Tesla Inc. Model 3 involved in a March 1 fatal crash in Florida was being driven by the vehicle’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system, and the driver’s hands weren’t on the steering wheel, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The driver was killed when the car slammed into the side of a semi-truck that was crossing a highway in Delray Beach, the NTSB said in a preliminary report released last Thursday. The driver apparently wasn’t steering in the eight seconds before the collision, according to NTSB.

“Preliminary vehicle data show that the Tesla was traveling about 68 mph when it struck the semitrailer,” the report said. “Neither the preliminary data nor the videos indicate that the driver or the ADAS executed evasive maneuvers.”

ADAS refers to Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system. The NTSB used video from a nearby surveillance camera showing the collision and the video devices that Teslas use to help them steer and perform other functions.

“We are deeply saddened by this accident, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy,” Tesla said in an emailed statement. The company informed NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the Autopilot activation after reviewing the car’s computerized data log, the company said.

The crash is the latest Tesla accident under investigation by the NTSB and is strikingly similar to a 2016 case in which a Model S hit the side of a truck without braking.

In that fatal collision, the NTSB found that the design of Tesla Autopilot system was partially responsible for the crash and issued two recommendations to the company and other manufacturers to improve the safety of such partially autonomous driving tools.

Among the NTSB’s findings was that the car’s sensors weren’t designed to identify the side of the truck and, therefore, didn’t slow the vehicle.

Four months after the May 2016 crash, which killed former Navy SEAL Joshua Brown, Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk held a call with reporters to discuss a new version of the Autopilot software. Enhancements to the radar used as part of the company’s driver-assistance system likely would have detected the semi-trailer, he said at the time.

The NTSB preliminary report on the March 1 collision doesn’t spell out what the car’s sensors detected as the vehicle approached the truck.

The safety board is also looking at another fatal crash involving Autopilot in 2018 in California. In that case, a Model X struck a concrete highway barrier, killing the driver.

NTSB investigators are also probing how Tesla’s electric batteries behave after accidents following several fires.