The Inquiry Into Tesla Autopilot Has Been Expanded By US Safety Officials
Federal safety officials in the United States have "upgraded" their probe into Tesla's Autopilot advanced driving assistance system after additional incidences of EVs colliding with parked first-responder vehicles were discovered.
The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration announced Thursday that it was broadening its preliminary
assessment of Tesla Autopilot technologies to include an engineering
examination. According to the agency, this means that the NHTSA will expand its
current crash analysis, evaluate additional data sets, and perform vehicle
evaluations, as well as assess whether Autopilot and associated Tesla systems
may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the
effectiveness of the driver's supervision.
Before the NHTSA may issue a
recall, the escalation is a vital and required step. According to agency
papers, the investigation involves an estimated 830,000 Tesla automobiles. A
request for comment from Tesla was not returned.
The NHTSA stated in a
statement that "no commercially available motor vehicles now are capable
of driving itself."
"Every available
vehicle requires the human driver to be in control at all times, and all State
laws hold the human driver liable for vehicle operation," an agency
spokeswoman told TechCrunch in a statement. "While certain advanced
driving aid systems can increase safety by assisting drivers in avoiding
incidents and mitigating the severity of those that do occur, drivers must use
them correctly and responsibly, as with other technologies and equipment on
motor vehicles." NHTSA is armed with powerful enforcement tools to
safeguard the public, investigate potential safety issues, and take action when
we discover evidence of noncompliance or an excessive danger to safety."
The NHTSA launched a
preliminary inquiry into Tesla Autopilot in August 2021, citing 11 incidences
in which vehicles collided with parked first responder vehicles while the
technology was active. Tesla vehicles were either using Autopilot or a
technology called Traffic Aware Cruise Control at the time of the crashes.
According to the records,
the majority of the occurrences occurred after dark and despite "scene
control measures" such as emergency vehicle lights, road cones, and an
illuminated arrow board urging drivers to change lanes.