Tesla’s Autopilot Driving Under Investigation For National Highway Traffic Safety.
Key Sentence:
- US auto safety officials have opened an investigation into Tesla’s partially self-driving car system.
- After nearly a dozen reports of vehicles Tesla hitting cars at the crash site with emergency services.
While the system can steer the car on its own in most cases, Tesla drivers must keep the wheel if they need to drive when the autopilot encounters a situation that is too complex to handle on its own.
After a 2016 crash that killed a man in Florida who authorities said was overconfident in the system’s capabilities. Security officials have criticized Tesla for overestimating the autopilot function, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the system is safer than human drivers.
In May, a fatal accident involving an autopilot vehicle in Texas drew attention to how motorists can mislead the autopilot into thinking that someone is behind the wheel, even if no one is doing so.
In their latest investigation, NHTSA investigators identified 11 accidents since January 2018, “where a Tesla model of a different configuration collided with the initial reaction scene and subsequently crashed into one or more of the vehicles associated with the scene.” Investigation Service. “Most incidents occur after dark, and crash sites include accident control measures such as emergency vehicle lights, missiles, illuminated arrows, and road cones.
Participation of all participating vehicle locations has been confirmed. Cruise control is notified of traffic when approaching an accident. The incidents occurred on Tesla vehicles from the 2014 to 2021 model years.
Tesla did not tie the model years to its cars, but federal agencies did.
“The investigation will evaluate the technology and methods used to monitor, support, and enforce the driver’s commitment to the dynamic task of driving during Operation Autopilot,” the investigators said.
Tesla did not reply to a request to comment. The company got rid of its media business last year. The emergency services incident occurred in San Diego; Miami; Lansing, Michigan; Montgomery County, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Kochiz County, Arizona; Westbridgewater, Massachusetts; Clover, Indiana; Norwalk, Connecticut; Laguna Beach, California; and Culver City, California.