The Associated Press: Tesla’s autopilot technology is being probed after 11 accidents with parked emergency cars have been documented since 2018. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) declared on its website that it was investigating Tesla’s autonomous driving aid features. According to the company’s statistics, 17 individuals were wounded and one died while utilizing the autopilot functions.
The investigation will include 765,000 Autopilot-equipped vehicles manufactured in the United States since 2014. Tesla’s stock dropped 4.3% as a result of the announcement.
NHTSA and Tesla should limit Autopilot’s deployment to places where it can properly function, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which also reviewed some of the Tesla incidents. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has justified Autopilot on several occasions, tweeting in April that “Tesla with Autopilot engaged now nearing 10 times lower probability of accident than a typical car.” The National Transportation Safety Board also recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration oblige Tesla to implement a more robust process to ensure that car owners are paying proper attention.
Tesla drivers have been captured driving intoxicated or even sitting in the passenger seat while a car drove down a California freeway while using Autopilot. Throughout June 2016, prosecutors have been sent to 31 crashes involving partly self-driving vehicles on autopilot mode. These technologies can maintain a car in its lane and at a respectful location from vehicles in front of it. According to statistics supplied by the government, 25 of the collisions utilized Tesla Autopilot, with 10 deaths reported.
In its inquiry materials, the NHTSA stated, “The investigative will examine the technologies and techniques utilized to monitor, assist, and regulate the driver’s participation with the dynamics driving job throughout Autopilot operation.”
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns the audience that today’s commercially accessible motor vehicles are not qualified to drive themselves,” the agency stated in a release.
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, hailed the latest investigation on Monday, the board has urged the government to develop standards for driving security systems and to require manufacturers to “incorporate system safeguards that restrict the use of automated driving control systems to those scenarios for which they were built.”
The agency stated that it has “strong enforcement powers” to safeguard the public and examine possible safety concerns and that it will act if proof of “noncompliance or an unacceptable danger to safety” is discovered.
The actions suggest that the government has begun to take a more aggressive approach to automated vehicle safety than in the past. It has been hesitant to impose any new technological restrictions for fear of impeding the deployment of potentially life-saving technologies.
