The owner of a Tesla Model 3 has blamed the vehicle’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system for not bringing the car to a halt as it plowed through no less than 11 (!) construction cones on the side of a highway.
The video was uploaded just over a week ago. The incident took place in North Carolina and is a timely reminder of how important it is to always remain attentive even when you’re driving a vehicle with semi-autonomous functionalities.
As the Tesla cruises down the left lane of the motorway, a large construction sign comes into view warning drivers that the lane up ahead is closed. Drivers paying attention would have immediately braked at the sight of this flashing sign and changed lanes. For whatever reason, the Model 3 driver did not.
Also Watch: Tesla Model 3 Owner Claims Autopilot Helped Him Avoid Motorway Crash
Instead, he probably relied on the car’s electronics and took no evasive action. Thus, he ended up slamming head-on into a series of large construction cones placed in the center of the lane. By the time the electric vehicle came to a halt several hundred feet down the road, it has hit 11 of them.
Interestingly, the person who uploaded the following dashcam footage on YouTube appears to have been the driver and, as suspected, points the finger at the car as the cause of the crash.
“Automatic Emergency Braking totally failed me on the one time I needed it most. With all the phantom braking events I have experienced in the 2-1/2 months I’ve owned it, it does seem like it would panic when it saw this coming,” he wrote.
While it is unusual that the AEB system doesn’t appear to have been triggered here, the fact of the matter is that the driver should have be in control of his vehicle and steer clear of any obstacle. Besides, every manufacturer, including Tesla, clearly states that these are supplementary systems and the person behind the wheel is at all times responsible for their actions. But who reads the manual anyway?