Two crashes involving Tesla vehicles believed to be on Autopilot come under scrutiny by federal regulators It has been pointed out that new dangers may be lurking on US highways. Partially automated vehicles may not stop for motorcycles.
Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent an investigative team into two of his accidents where a Tesla car collided with a motorcycle in the dark on a highway. Both were fatal.
Authorities suspect Tesla's partially automated driver assistance system was used in each. Officials say that as more information is gathered, the collision will be included in a broader investigation thata Tesla car collided with an emergency vehicle parked on a highway. It is said that there is a possibility that it will be NHTSA is also investigating more than 750 complaints that Tesla vehicles can brake for no reason.
At 4:47 am on July 7, the first motorcycle crash occurred on State Route 91 in Riverside, California. Did. A white Tesla Model Y SUV was driving in the east high occupancy lane. In front of them was a rider on a green Yamaha V-Star bike, according to a statement from the California Highway Patrol.
At one point, a vehicle collided and an unidentified motorcyclist was ejected from the Yamaha. He was confirmed dead at the scene by the fire department.
It is under investigation whether Tesla was working on his Autopilot, a CHP spokesperson said.
The second crash occurred at approximately 1:09 am on July 24 on Interstate 15 near Draper, Utah. A Tesla Model 3 sedan was behind a Harley-Davidson motorcycle also in his HOV lane. "The Tesla driver did not see the motorcycle driver and struck the rear of the motorcycle, throwing the rider off the bike," the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a prepared statement.
Ryder, from the Utah Department of Public Safety via AP, identified as Landon Embry, 34, of Orem, Utah, was killed at the scene. Died. The Tesla driver told authorities he had the vehicle's autopilot on, according to a statement.
"This feature is not working properly."
Michael Brooks, deputy executive director of non-profit Center for Automobile Safety, recalls Tesla's Autopilot to NHTSA I called you. cars and pedestrians.
"It should be obvious to me and should be directed at many Tesla owners by now. This feature is not working properly, fails to meet expectations and is innocent It's hurting people. They're in danger on the streets," Brooks said.
Since 2016, NHTSA has dispatched teams to 39 of his crashes where he suspected the use of self-driving systems, according to agency documents. Thirty of those involved Tesla vehicles, including crashes that killed 19 people.
Brooks criticized authorities for continuing investigations but failing to act. "What the hell are they doing while these crashes keep happening?" he asked. "Drivers are tempted to think this protects them and others on the road, but it's not working."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said: It eliminates the use of radar from the system and relies solely on the camera and computer memory. Brooks and other safety advocates say the lack of radar impairs visibility in the dark.
Tesla says Autopilot and "fully self-driving" vehicles cannot drive themselves and drivers must be ready to intervene at any time.
The Potential of Autopilot
In an interview in June, NHTSA's new Director Stephen Cliff said that NHTSA is stepping up its efforts to understand the risks posed by self-driving cars. and allows us to determine the regulations necessary to protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians. There are no federal regulations directly targeting self-driving vehicles or vehicles with partially automated driver assistance systems such as Autopilot.
The agency also said the technology has great potential to reduce traffic accidents.
NHTSA also ordered all automakers and technology companies with self-driving systems to report all crashes. The agency released its first batch of data in June, showing nearly 400 of his crashes were reported over the past 10 months, including 273 of his for Tesla. However, he cautioned against making comparisons, saying that Tesla's telematics can collect data in real time much faster than other companies.
Tesla's autopilot keeps the car in its lane and a following distance behind other cars. The company is also testing "fully self-driving" software designed to let selected owners complete routes on their own under human supervision. Musk says the cars will eventually drive themselves, enabling a fleet of autonomous robo-taxis that will boost Tesla's bottom line. In 2019, Musk promised that he would have robo-taxis operational in 2020.
At the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, he said "fully self-driving cars" have improved significantly, and he sent the software to owners who are looking for him for the holidays.
- In:
- Tesla
- Elon Musk
- California
Thank you for reading CBS NEWS.
Create a free account or log in to
for more features.
