A suspected software glitch has made an Ola electric scooter go into reverse mode at full speed. The rider was a 65 years old man and he was hospitalized with head and body injuries. The Ola S1 Pro has been in the news due to a number of issues leading to fire incidents previously.
This is the third reported incident of the Ola S1 Pro electric scooter with a possible software malfunction. The e-scooter was being parked by the rider when it reversed at about 50km/h, severely injuring the rider in the process. The news came to the fore when the owner of the scooter, who is the son of the rider, posted the story on LinkedIn. The owner, Palav Maheshwari said the accident was due to a software bug. He said that his dad was only taking the scooter from outside the house to park inside. The rider was reported to have banged his head on a wall with almost eh skull open and a fracture in his left arm.
Maheshwari said that he took delivery of the scooter on January 15, 2022, and he experienced a similar problem on the second day of the delivery itself. He stated that he did not pay attention to the issue since the scooter was new and the issue did not occur again. In addition, the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) of the scooter was recently fixed by Ola Electric and Maheshwari expected all issues relating to software glitches would have been corrected. The VCU upgrade in the Ola S1 Pro was due mainly to battery drainage issues in the e-scooter.
As these negative incidents continue to pile up, Ola Electric has to do a proper overview of the model. The Pune fire incident had led to the recall of several S1 Pro units, but it seems there are still more issues with the vehicle. On the issue of software glitches leading to the full-speed reverse of the vehicle, Ola is yet to recall the S1 Pro. Regulatory agencies may have to come in so that the issue does not escalate any further.
RELATED:
- Investigation launched after Ola S1 Pro e-scooter went up in flames in Pune
- Ola S1 Pro will soon get a price hike in India; MoveOS 2.0 update by April end
- Ola S1 Pro gets new GERUA color to celebrate the Holi festive season in India
- AMO Jaunty Plus e-bike launched in India to take on the Ola S1 & Ather 450X
(source)