A Tesla that could have been operating on the company’s Autopilot driving system struck and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle on Friday, April 19, 2024. | Photo source: AP
The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether last year’s recall of Tesla’s Autopilot driving system was enough to keep drivers paying attention to the road.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted April 26 on its website that it has concerns about the December recall of more than 2 million vehicles, almost all of the vehicles Tesla sold at the time.
The agency prompted the company to recall the vehicles after a two-year investigation into its Autopilot driver monitoring system, which measures steering torque from the driver’s hands.
The fix involves an online software update to boost the number of warnings for drivers. However, the agency said in documents that it found evidence of failures after the repair and that Tesla added updates that were not covered by the recall.
“The investigation will consider why these updates were not part of a product recall or were not intended to address a defect that poses an undue safety risk,” the agency wrote.
Early on April 26, a message was sent seeking comment from Tesla.
NHTSA said Tesla reported 20 accidents that apparently occurred after the countermeasure was sent. The agency required Tesla and other automakers to report accidents involving partially and fully automated driving systems.
NHTSA said it would evaluate the recall, including the “distinction and scope” of the autopilot controls to prevent misuse, confusion and apply in environments the system is not intended to support.
It also said Tesla stated that owners can decide whether they want to apply part of the remedy and that it allows drivers to withdraw part of it.
Safety advocates have long raised concerns that Autopilot, which can keep a vehicle in its lane and at a distance from objects in front of it, was not designed to work on roads other than limited-access highways.
The investigation was launched just a week after a Tesla that could be operating on Autopilot struck and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle, raising questions about whether the recent recall was enough to ensure Tesla drivers using Autopilot were paying attention to the road.
After the April 19 crash in a suburb about 15 miles northeast of the city, the driver of a 2022 Tesla Model S told a Washington State Patrol trooper that he was using Autopilot and was looking at his cell phone while driving the Tesla. .
“The next thing he heard was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward, accelerating and colliding with the motorcycle in front of him,” the officer wrote in the probable cause document.
A 56-year-old driver was arrested in connection with a vehicular manslaughter investigation “based on admitted inattention while driving in Autopilot mode and being distracted from his cell phone while driving forward, which instilled confidence in the machine to guide him,” it said. statement.
The Tesla driver told the officer he was on his way home after lunch when the crash occurred around 3:45 p.m.
Authorities said motorcyclist Jeffrey Nissen, 28, of Stanwood, Washington, was under the car and died at the scene.
Authorities said they have not yet independently verified whether Autopilot was in apply at the time of the crash.
The Associated Press reported shortly after the recall that experts said it relied on technology that may not work.
Tesla, a leading electric vehicle maker, reluctantly agreed to recall the vehicles last year after NHTSA found its driver monitoring system was defective and needed repair.
The system sends warnings to drivers if it does not detect the torque caused by their hands on the steering wheel – a system that experts describe as ineffective.
Government documents filed by Tesla say the online software change will boost the number of warnings and alerts for drivers to keep their hands on the wheel. It may also limit the areas where the most commonly used versions of Autopilot can be used, although this wasn’t entirely clear in Tesla’s documents.
NHTSA began an investigation in 2021 after receiving 11 reports that Teslas using a partially automated system crashed into parked emergency vehicles. Since 2016, the agency has dispatched investigators to at least 35 crashes in which Teslas suspected of operating with a partially automated driving system struck parked emergency vehicles, motorcyclists or tractor trailers that crossed the vehicles’ paths, causing a total of 17 deaths. .
However, studies by NHTSA, the National Transportation Safety Board and other researchers show that simply measuring steering wheel torque does not guarantee that drivers are paying enough attention. Experts say night vision cameras are needed to watch drivers’ eyes and make sure they are looking at the road.
