If someone were to say a Tesla without a driver was involved in an accident, most would automatically think to blame the driver-assist feature Autopilot.
That’s not the case in this video captured by James Kincell’s car on the M60 motorway in Greater Manchester on September 21, 2020.
Kincell was travelling behind a 2008 black Range Rover towing a Tesla Model X on a flatbed trailer. The car can be seen changing lanes, when all of a sudden the trailer becomes detached from the vehicle.
It then veers to the right, narrowly missing a passing Peugeot which had to manoeuvre out of the way, before crashing into the barrier at a high rate of speed.
Unfortunately the brand new Tesla was damaged in the accident, which took several hours to clear as the barrier needed to be cut to remove the trailer, according to the NW Motorway Police.
Usually when a decoupling like this happens it is because the trailer wasn’t properly secured and a bump in the road lifts the trailer off the tow hitch. The video does appear to show a small dip in the highway at about the 17 second mark, moments before the trailer goes for a joy ride.
This is a good reminder to always properly secure your load before towing. If the safety chains were attached it would have prevented the trailer from rolling away like it did.
Luckily the Model X was properly secured as it didn’t come off the trailer at impact.
Check out the full video below.
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