In 2019, a college student was pulled over by a state trooper, police lights flashing.

Then: Smack! Something hit her car, shattering her rear window.

A Tesla running in Autopilot mode slammed into the state trooper’s cruiser, knocking it into her car. latimes.com/business/story…
No one was injured in that crash, but it’s part of a sweeping investigation launched in August by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

@russ1mitchell reports: latimes.com/business/story…
NHTSA is looking into a dozen similar episodes over three years in which Tesla vehicles traveling at a range of speeds ran into stationary police cars, firetrucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, injuring 17 people and killing one. latimes.com/business/story…
NHTSA noted that all of the Tesla vehicles involved were running on either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control, systems that allow the driver to relinquish control of speed and sometimes steering while staying ready to intervene. latimes.com/business/story…
NHTSA said it would be looking into such factors as how the vehicle makes sure drivers are paying attention and how it detects visual cues of a crash scene such as flashing lights and flares — details that an alert human driver would be unlikely to miss.
But NHTSA investigators will also be digging into a question involving a more basic technology:

Why isn’t Tesla’s forward collision avoidance system better at preventing crashes like the college student's — at least when the computer is driving? latimes.com/business/story…
Tesla calls its vehicles “the safest cars in the world.”

But when it comes to the forward collision avoidance system, Tesla owners have been reporting problems at a substantially elevated rate compared with similarly equipped cars. latimes.com/business/story…
In 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021, NHTSA received 131 complaints about Tesla’s system, compared with 55 for Mercedes-Benz, 28 for Audi and 14 for Volvo. latimes.com/business/story…
“Teslas are running into stationary objects,” said the head of Princeton’s driverless car engineering program.

If the cars can’t avoid crash scenes marked by flares or traffic cones, he said, “how can you trust anything else they do with Autopilot?” latimes.com/business/story…
One possibility, according to Missy Cummings, who studies human-machine interaction at Duke University, is that Autopilot is designed to preempt or suppress emergency braking to minimize what’s known as phantom braking.

@russ1mitchell reports: latimes.com/business/story…

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More from @latimes

7 Oct
When a major heat wave hits Southern California, here’s how it begins ⬇️ latimes.com/environment/st…
The wave begins with a jab — a ridge of high pressure builds over Nevada or Mexico and sweeps into the region, bringing scorching temperatures along with it. latimes.com/environment/st…
Then: A mass of humid air created by unusually warm ocean water just off the northern coast of Baja California moves in from the Southeast.

Combined, they deliver a deadly blow, wreaking havoc on heavily populated regions such as Los Angeles County. latimes.com/environment/st…
Read 6 tweets
7 Oct
When Gov. Newsom said last week that California would require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a critical caveat was tucked within the announcement: Parents can opt their children out of inoculation based on personal beliefs. latimes.com/california/sto…
Newsom didn't define the criteria for obtaining those exemptions, leaving it up to state public health officials.

Now, lawmakers are expressing concerns that allowing broad exemptions in the mandate will undermine the state’s effort to protect schools. latimes.com/california/sto…
Under California law, students are allowed to skip vaccines required for in-person attendance at K-12 schools after a doctor says it’s medically necessary to do so. latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 6 tweets
7 Oct
Most teams that win 107 regular-season games would expect to run away with the division title.

The #Giants were afforded no such luxury despite setting a franchise record for wins this season. They had the #Dodgers nipping at their heels all summer.

latimes.com/sports/dodgers…
The Giants held off the relentless, 106-win Dodgers by one game to win their first National League West title since 2012, clinching the division with an 11-4 win over the San Diego Padres.

latimes.com/sports/dodgers…
The mettle they showed in fending off the defending World Series champion Dodgers with a series of clutch hits and late-inning heroics down the stretch should give the Giants plenty of confidence when the archrivals meet in the best-of-five NLDS.

latimes.com/sports/dodgers…
Read 8 tweets
7 Oct
The miles-wide oil slick from the spill reported Saturday off Huntington Beach had already befouled beaches and estuaries just to the north.

Now it was drifting off one of the most treasured stretches of the California coast – the coves of Laguna Beach.

latimes.com/california/sto…
The quintessence of California’s shoreline is its stark variety, from the gentle beaches of Coronado to the sea stacks of the North Coast. Laguna is one of the inarguable wonders.

latimes.com/california/sto…
While only small bits of oil had washed onto several beaches in the area so far, officials warned the shifting currents could still push thicker parts of the slick ashore. It could be devastating for some of the richest marine ecosystems in the state.

latimes.com/california/sto…
Read 7 tweets
7 Oct
Extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of global warming.

But California chronically undercounts the death toll and has failed to address the growing threat of heat-related illness and death, according to a @latimes investigation.

Thread ⬇️
latimes.com/projects/calif…
Between 2010 and 2019, the hottest decade on record, California’s official data from death certificates attributed 599 deaths to heat exposure.

But a Times analysis found that the true toll is probably six times higher. latimes.com/environment/st…
California’s undercount is one of the ways it overlooks the threat posed by heat waves, even as climate change delivers them more frequently, more intensely and with deadlier consequences. latimes.com/environment/st…
Read 6 tweets
6 Oct
Garcelle Beauvais, Crystal Kung Minkoff and Sutton Stracke open up about Erika Jayne, discussing race on reality TV and stocking up on leather pants. #RHOBH latimes.com/entertainment-…
As viewers prepare for a showdown in the four-part #RHOBHReunion, which begins next week, the trio sat down with @villarrealy to discuss how legal scandal swept up the season. latimes.com/entertainment-…
This past year, "Housewife" Erika Jayne faced mass scrutiny over her possible involvement in an embezzlement scheme with her then-husband Tom Girardi. latimes.com/entertainment-…
Read 6 tweets

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