the driver pressed “the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal”

If Tesla was one of the pioneers of autonomous driving with its Autopilot system, the firm is regularly in the crosshairs of the authorities, due to accidents that took place while the system was engaged. But in some cases, the latter has nothing to doas is the case for a drama that took place in 2021.

The final report finally revealed

Three years ago, a horrific accident made headlines, as you probably remember. A Tesla Model 3 drove at very high speed into the crowd in the heart of Paris, and more precisely in the 13th arrondissement of the capital. A dramatic collision, which caused the death of a cyclist on Avenue d'Ivry and which injured no less than 21 people. A case which had encouraged Taxis G7 to ban the use of the electric sedan for several weeks.

The driver, a 61-year-old taxi driver had been placed under judicial supervision pending the conclusions of the investigation. Especially since urban equipment had also been damaged, including a Vélib' station and a traffic light. A van was also hit during the Tesla's wild ride. But where are we three years after the tragedy? Well now the BEA-TT, the Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau has just released its final report.

The latter recalls the facts, which took place on December 11, 2021, at 8:45 p.m. He explains that in the middle of avenue d’Ivry, “ the car brakes suddenly due to activation of AEBS (automatic emergency braking, editor's note)probably due to an untimely reaction from this system, because no nearby obstacle is identified by the driver. Probably thinking that it is regenerative braking associated with the accelerator pedal, and to avoid stopping the vehicle, the driver presses hard on the accelerator without realizing it. The AEBS is deactivated and the vehicle therefore accelerates sharply ».

He is surprised and continues to accelerateunconsciously keeping his foot on the right pedal. However, he manages to “ steer your vehicle and at a crossroads take advantage of the absence of a concrete barrier to insert yourself into the cycle path which is not very busy, allowing you to avoid hitting other road vehicles “. He finally hit the cyclist at a speed of 118 km/h, and finishes his race at 140 km/h in a glass container. It exploded under the power of the shock and injured around twenty people.

Tesla is not responsible, but…

The report provides the following conclusion: “ The main cause of the accident was the driver's inability to understand his downforce error on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal “. The manufacturer's responsibility seems definitively ruled out, while it is confirmed that the driver had no not activated the semi-autonomous driving system Autopilot. It was therefore only human error that caused this fatal collision, but however, Tesla was still caught. Especially since this type of situation, known as phantom braking, can sometimes be dangerous and is quite widespread.

As a result, the BEA-TT has issued some recommendations to the American manufacturer. He asks the latter to “ not make it possible to cancel the activation of the AEBS by pressing the accelerator “. He also called on the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) in charge of the file, in order to propose a change to the regulations of the United Nations which goes in this direction. Investigators are also calling for an increase in the duration and frequency of recording vehicle data in the event of an accident.

Finally, he asks Tesla to better inform drivers “ on the vehicle's acceleration capabilities “, and this while instant torque electric cars can be destabilizing. But the matter is not yet over. If the driver had been indicted for manslaughter, he had filed a complaint against the manufacturer for “endangering the lives of others”. However, the conclusions of the investigation office should undermine his defense. Because already last spring, the expertise highlighted that no brake application had been detected.