Fatal Tesla crash draws in transportation safety board

The traffic safety agency is trying to determine whether the car's Autopilot system was at fault

A second federal agency is investigating a fatal May 7 crash in Florida involving a Tesla automobile operating in Autopilot mode that failed to stop when a tractor-trailer turned in front of it.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which more typically looks into accidents involving trains, planes, buses and ships, confirmed on Sunday that it had sent a team to investigate the crash, which killed Joshua Brown, an entrepreneur from Ohio.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Florida Highway Patrol are already investigating the accident. The traffic safety agency, the nation's main auto safety regulator, is trying to determine whether the car's Autopilot system was at fault.

Brown, 40, was driving his 2015 Tesla Model S in Williston, Florida, when it hit a truck that had turned left and was crossing in front of the car. Tesla, whose vehicles have the ability to send the company data about their operating conditions, has said that the Autopilot was engaged at the time, and that neither Brown nor the system activated the brakes before impact.

The involvement of the transportation safety board signals even greater scrutiny of the accident and Tesla's Autopilot technology. The agency specialises in determining the causes of crashes and is familiar with the self-driving technology used in trains and airplanes.

"I think it's very appropriate that NTSB is doing this, and I welcome it," said Joan Claybrook, a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator who continues to advocate improved auto safety. "I think there's an urgency to find out if these autonomous systems are at fault because companies continue to push hard to get the technology onto the road."

The traffic safety agency has also sent investigators to Pennsylvania to examine a 1 July crash that involved a Tesla Model X sport utility vehicle that scraped a guardrail and a concrete barrier before rolling over. The driver, Albert Scaglione, an art gallery owner from Michigan, told the Pennsylvania State Police that the vehicle had Autopilot engaged at the time of the crash. Tesla has said it has no evidence that Autopilot was in use in that accident.

Tesla cars equipped with Autopilot can use a camera and radar to steer themselves for short periods of time, and can detect other moving vehicles and slow or even stop in traffic under certain conditions. But drivers are warned when they turn it on to keep their hands on the steering wheel and remain alert.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have some overlap in their responsibilities, but the safety board is primarily an investigative agency that determines the causes of accidents. The traffic safety agency regulates motor vehicle safety and investigates for defects that pose safety risks.

©2016 The New York Times News Service