Police officers need to be on high alert when they’re on the highway since danger can come from any direction. Several officers from the California Highway Patrol was in the middle of investigating a fatal accident when a Tesla suddenly rear-ended one of their vehicles at top speed without braking. Two officers were seriously injured in the crash. Dashcam footage taken from the patrol car shows how dangerous the collision was, with CHP deciding to release the video as a warning to all Tesla drivers so that they don’t make the same terrible mistake.
Tesla rams into patrol cars at freeway speed
On October 13 at night, two officers sustained serious injuries after a Tesla travelling at freeway speed slammed into their patrol car, according to a post by the California Highway Patrol – Solano on its official Facebook page.
The officers were in the middle of investigating a fatal crash on I-80 eastbound, close to the Air Base Parkway in Fairfield, and had placed flares and cones around the scene to indicate that several lanes had been closed. On top of that, there were other emergency vehicles, in addition to the patrol car, near the crash site with their emergency lights flashing. However, none of these precautions prevented the Tesla from plowing straight into their vehicle.
Video taken from surveillance cameras and dashcam footage shows the Tesla ramming the parked patrol car at high speed without braking. The doors of the vehicle were already open at the time of impact, but the impact was so great that they folded inward before opening wide again as the car was sent hurling toward the back of another vehicle.
The officer in the driver seat is seen immediately stunned and jostled, with his bodycam shaking back and forth. When the car came to a stop, the cop still had the wherewithal to kick the door open more and step out. However, he only makes it a few steps before he is heard grunting and seemingly falling to the ground while looking up at the shattered door window.
Tesla driver turned on the vehicle’s full self-driving feature
According to a report by FOX 13, authorities did not release the identity of the Tesla driver that caused the accident but described him as a 22-year-old man from Sacramento.
The driver admitted that he had fallen asleep at the wheel after he turned the Tesla’s signature self-driving feature on. This is unfortunately a common mistake. Tesla has made it a point to describe the feature formally as FSD (Supervised) to make it clear that drivers are still responsible for the vehicle while it’s on. On its support page, the company says that “FSD (Supervised) is an advanced driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver. It does not turn a Tesla into a fully autonomous vehicle.”
Case in point, the video shows the Tesla not slowing down despite the emergency flares and cones. But having an attentive driver behind the wheel would have made all the difference. Back in July, a driver tried to tell an officer that he didn’t deserve a speeding ticket because his Tesla was in self-driving mode, but that didn’t work.
“Despite its name, full self-driving is not fully autonomous,” the CHP Facebook post said. “It is an SAE Level 2 driver assistance system that requires continuous driver supervision. Technology does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to safely operate their vehicles. Distracted and inattentive driving can have devastating consequences.”
The post does not reveal whether the driver was arrested or will face any charges in connection with the collision. Both officers sustained serious injuries and were transported to the hospital, but they were both released on Friday, October 16. The Tesla driver suffered minor injuries and is expected to recover.
