The driver of a Tesla Motors Model S killed while using its semi-autonomous Autopilot feature was exceeding the speed limit at the time of the crash, according to a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday.
System performance data showed that Joshua Brown was traveling 74 mph along a Florida highway just prior to colliding with a tractor trailer that crossed his path, the report said. The posted speed limit in the area was 65 mph. There?s no indication?at least not yet?that the crash could have been avoided had Brown adhered to the speed limit. The NTSB preliminary report establishes the basic facts of the collision; it does not draw any conclusions about the May 7 crash. Investigators say their probe is ongoing, and that a final report likely won’t be released for a year. Investigators confirmed that Brown, 40, had engaged the Autopilot system, and that the Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer lane-keeping assistance were functioning. The car also was equipped with automatic emergency braking designed to apply the brakes to either avoid or mitigate a frontal collision, the NTSB report said.

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 It?s not in the spec to make a decision to tell the vehicle

to do anything based on that left turn, that lateral turn

across the path.

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Neither Brown nor the Autopilot system braked when the truck, carrying a load of blueberries, turned across its path. Photographs that accompanied Tuesday’s report show the Model S h...