Tesla, Ford Mustang collide causing 'major' power outage near downtown Visalia
A two-car collision caused a "major" power outage in central Visalia Saturday night, according to police.
Just before 11 p.m., officers responded to the wreck at Murray Avenue between Willis and Jacob streets.
When officers arrived, they were told Javier Diaz was westbound on Murray at Johnson Street when he rear ended another vehicle. The collision caused both vehicles to crash into a home and hit a power line causing a major power outage, Visalia spokeswoman Elizabeth Jones said.
The drivers and passengers were taken to Kaweah Delta Medical Center for their injuries.
Diaz, 27, is suspected of drunken driving, Jones said. He was arrested and booked into Tulare County Pretrial Facility on suspicion of driving under the influence.
"Please avoid the area if possible," Jones said Sunday morning. "SoCal Edison is still on scene working to restore power."
Autopilot
Automakers reported nearly 400 crashes of vehicles with partially automated driver-assist systems, including 273 involving Teslas, according to statistics released by U.S. safety regulators last summer.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautioned against using the numbers to compare automakers, saying it didn’t weight them by the number of vehicles from each manufacturer that uses such systems, or how many miles those vehicles traveled.
Automakers reported crashes from July 2021 through May 15, 2022 under an order from the agency, which is examining such crashes broadly for the first time.
“As we gather more data, NHTSA will be able to better identify any emerging risks or trends and learn more about how these technologies are performing in the real world,” said Steven Cliff, the agency’s administrator.
Tesla’s crashes occurred while vehicles were using Autopilot, “Full Self-Driving,” Traffic Aware Cruise Control, or other driver-assist systems that have some control over speed and steering. The company has about 830,000 vehicles with the systems on the road.
The next closest of a dozen automakers that reported crashes was Honda, with 90, but Honda says it has about 6 million vehicles on U.S. roads with such systems. Subaru was next with 10, and all other automakers reported five or fewer.
In a June 2021 order, NHTSA told more than 100 automakers and automated vehicle tech companies to report serious crashes within one day of learning about them and to disclose less-serious crashes by the 15th day of the following month. The agency is assessing how the systems perform and whether new regulations may be needed.
NHTSA also said that five people were killed in the crashes involving driver-assist systems, and six were seriously hurt.
Tesla’s crash number also may be high because the company uses telematics to monitor its vehicles and get real-time crash reports. Other automakers don’t have such capability, so their reports may come slower or crashes may not be reported at all, NHTSA said.
What is Tesla's AutoPilot?
Tesla’s crashes accounted for nearly 70% of the 392 reported by the dozen automakers. Although the Austin, Texas, automaker calls its systems Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving,” it says the vehicles cannot drive themselves and the drivers must be ready to intervene at all times. The cars require hands to be on the steering wheel or yoke at all times with reminders given often.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tesla, Ford Mustang collide causing 'major' power outage in Visalia
