Tesla Operated By Full Self Crashing System Hits Two Parked First Responder Vehicles - Again

The Nash County Sherrif's Office in North Carolina and the Governor's Highway Safety Program of North Carolina are both reporting that a Tesla vehicle being operated by the brand's "advanced" Autopilot driver assist system smashed into two parked first responder vehicles early Wednesday morning.

Police say that a physician returning home from a late shift in the emergency room was an occupant in a Tesla vehicle which was being controlled by the vehicle's Autopilot system often misnamed as a "self-driving" system. The vehicle was unable to stay clear of two parked Sherrif's office vehciles that were parked alongside the roadway.

The Nash County Sherrif's Office posted its Facebook page, "Thankfully our Deputy and the Trooper were not injured during this incident. This is just another opportunity to remind everyone of the Move Over Law in NC. Also we don't recommend watching a movie while driving down the road, even if your car is driving for you." The post also included images of the destruction caused by the Tesla being operated by the Autopilot system.

The Governor's Highway Safety Program of North Carolina also showed images on its Twitter page of the wreck and said, "We're so very glad everyone left the crash scene alive."

Fox 46 of Charlotte quoted police who said the vehicle was operating on Autopilot during the crash and that the occupant of the Tesla was using the free time to view a movie on a phone while the vehicle handled the crashing.

Torque News has covered the never-ending string of Tesla crashes into first responder vehicles and other large parked and slow-moving vehicles for years. Our most recent story highlighted a Tesla that crashed itself into two first responder vehicles, which is the new standard for full self crashing technology, up from hitting just a single first responder vehicle. You can view some of the previous self-crashing incidents at our list below. Please keep in mind it is only a partial listing.

Tesla's recently-updated crashing technology has repeatedly shown it is capable of hitting multiple parked first responder vehicles. With two crashes in a span of just two months and a total of four first responder vehicles destroyed, no other automaker has demonstrated such a consistent system.

Stay tuned for the next Tesla self-crashing story. They often come at a rate as frequent as monthly.

July 2020 - Police: Tesla On Autopilot Hits Not One, But TWO Parked First Responder Vehicles
January 2020: Second Crash In One Month Of A Tesla Into A Parked Firetruck Results In Fatality
December 2019: Tesla Model 3 On Autopilot Hits Yet Another Police Vehicle - Why Won't They Stop?
August 2018: Third Tesla Crashes Into Back of Firetruck - That's Four Crashes Into Emergency Vehicles This Year
May 2018: Another Tesla On Autopilot Hits Another Emergency Vehicle - You Can't Make This Stuff Up
January 2018: Tesla Police Blotter News - Tesla Driver Hits Parked Firetruck - Blames Autopilot

John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. John's focus areas are technology, safety, and green vehicles. In the 1990s, he was part of a team that built a solar-electric vehicle from scratch. His was the role of battery thermal control designer. For 20 years he applied his engineering and sales talents in the high tech world and published numerous articles in technical journals such as Chemical Processing Magazine. In 2008 he retired from that career to chase his dream of being an auto writer. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin

Tesla showroom image by John Goreham. Use with permission only.