TuSimple Explains Highway Crash Cause Amid Federal Safety Investigation
TuSimple's CEO reveals that human error and an outdated system command cause an autonomous truck to swerve into a highway barrier. Federal regulators are currently investigating the April incident as the company upgrades its safety interface.
TuSimple uses its second-quarter earnings call to address an April highway crash where one of its autonomous trucks suddenly veers into a concrete barricade on an Arizona interstate. CEO Xiaodi Hou explains that a test driver and safety engineer attempt to reenter autonomous mode before the system computer is fully ready, causing the vehicle to swerve. Hou emphasizes that no one suffers injuries and notes that the company accumulates 8.1 million miles of road testing with precisely one incident over seven years.
Following the accident, TuSimple grounds its entire fleet and launches an independent investigation to determine the root cause of the failure. The internal report reveals that the truck abruptly turns left due to an outdated command that is 2.5 minutes old and should have been erased from the system. To prevent a recurrence, the company overhauls its human-machine interface and upgrades all of its systems with new safety protocols.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration join forces to investigate the highway crash. Hou states that the two federal agencies have yet to find any anomalies or issue safety recommendations, though the investigation remains ongoing. Despite the regulatory scrutiny, TuSimple reiterates its plans to commercialize fully driver-out operations in the near future.