Washington CNN —
A driver told authorities that their Tesla’s “fully self-driving” software unexpectedly braked last month, triggering an eight-car pile-up in the San Francisco Bay Area that resulted in nine people being treated for minor injuries, including a teenager who was hospitalized on a California Highway Patrol traffic accident report.
CNN Business obtained the report, which detailed the crash, through a public records request on Wednesday. The California Highway Patrol reviewed videos showing the Tesla vehicle changing lanes and coming to a slower stop.
The California Highway Patrol said in the Dec. 7 report that it could not confirm whether “full self-driving” was active at the time of the accident. A spokesman for the highway patrol told CNN Business on Wednesday that it would not determine if “full self-driving” was active, and that Tesla would have that information.
The accident happened around noon on Thanksgiving as traffic snarled on Interstate 80 east of the Bay Bridge as two lanes were closed for about 90 minutes as many people traveled to holiday events. Four Ambulances were called to the scene.
The pile-up happened just a few hours later This was announced by Tesla boss Elon Musk that Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” driver assistance software was available to anyone in North America who requested it. Tesla previously restricted access to drivers with high safety scores in its rating system.
“Full Autonomous Driving” is designed to keep up with traffic, steer in lane and obey road signs. It requires an alert human driver ready to take full control of the car at any time. It has delighted some drivers but also alarmed others with its limitations. Drivers will be warned by Tesla when installing “complete self-driving”. that it “can do the wrong thing at the worst possible moment”.
The report states that the Tesla Model S was traveling at about 55 mph and shifted into the extreme left lane, but then braked abruptly, slowing the car to about 20 mph. This led to a chain reaction in which eight vehicles crashed, all of which were driving at speeds typical of the country.
Tesla’s driver-assistance technologies, Autopilot and “complete self-driving,” are already under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after reports of unexpected braking “without warning, randomly, and often repeatedly during a single trip.”
The agency has received hundreds of complaints from Tesla drivers. Some have described near misses and concerns about their safety. This summer, NHTSA upgraded the investigation to what it calls technical analysis, an indication it’s seriously considering a recall.
NHTSA told CNN Business a few days after the Thanksgiving Day crash that it was gathering additional information from Tesla and law enforcement about the crash.