Tesla on Autopilot crashed into a stopped truck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Friday, June 17, 2023. The driver, 18-year-old David Clough of Michigan, was not injured. The crash happened at the 48.8-mile marker on eastbound Interstate 76 in Plum, Pennsylvania. Police said the truck was providing traffic control while the right lane was closed for paving work.
According to the police report, Clough was driving in the middle lane and the truck was parked in the middle lane when the crash happened. The report says Clough told police he was looking down at his phone at the time of the crash. He was cited for careless driving.
This is not the first time a Tesla on Autopilot has crashed into a stopped vehicle. In 2016, a Tesla on Autopilot crashed into a fire truck that was parked on the side of the road in Florida. The driver of the Tesla was killed in the crash.
In 2019, Tesla updated its Autopilot software to make it more aware of stopped vehicles. However, crashes involving Teslas on Autopilot continue to happen.
In general, the driver is still responsible for Autopilot, or any other automated vehicle, if it crashes. This is because the driver is still required to pay attention to the road and be ready to take control of the vehicle at any time.
The recent crash in Pennsylvania is a reminder that Tesla Autopilot is not a perfect system and that drivers should always be alert when using it.
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