A dramatic traffic accident occurred on December 11, 2023 in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, involving a Tesla driver and causing one death and 21 injuries. A new report published on November 21, 2024 confirms the responsibility of the driver and also implicates the manufacturer of electric vehicles.
The driver of the Tesla is indeed responsible for the fatal accident of December 11, 2023 in Paris, but the manufacturer has nothing to be ashamed of either.
The land transport accident investigation office (BEA-TT) released its report on the causes of the accident this Thursday, November 21, 2024, reports The Parisian.
As a reminder, a cyclist lost his life and 21 other people were injured during this accident on Avenue d'Ivry in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. A 61-year-old taxi driver lost control of his Tesla Model 3 shortly before 9 p.m., hitting a cyclist, several vehicles then a glass container and a Vélib station which exploded on impact.
He steps on the accelerator
A technical report had already been established by the Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie (IRCGN). Returned in May 2024, it did not reveal any technical failure on the vehicle.
The new BEA-TT report reveals that, contrary to the taxi driver's assertions, he did not press the brake pedal at any time, but the accelerator pedal.
How could he have been wrong? Just before the tragedy, the automatic braking is activated, a “beep” sounds. No one in the car knows what the noise is. “The reason leading to the activation of automatic braking […] is not known to the BEA-TTcite The Parisian. In view of the various images, both from the front camera and from the video surveillance camera of the police headquarters, as well as the speed of the vehicle at that time, it seems that this was an untimely reaction from the system.”
Recommendations for Tesla
For the driver, this is regenerative braking. He accelerates again before losing control, sums up the daily routine.
The investigation office issued several recommendations against Tesla including “the dissemination of additional information to that already present in the manufacturer's manual on the vehicle's acceleration capabilities” et “do not make it possible to cancel the activation of automatic braking by pressing the accelerator”.
