The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on August 16 that it has launched a formal safety investigation into the Tesla Driver Assistance System Autopilot following 11 accidents.
US auto safety regulators said Wednesday they have identified a 12th accident involving Tesla Inc. vehicles that were using advanced driver assistance systems in incidents involving emergency vehicles.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on August 16 It opened a formal safety investigation into the Tesla Driver Assistance System Autopilot after 11 crashes..
The 12th took place in Orlando on Saturday, NHTSA said. The agency sent an 11-page letter to Tesla on Tuesday as part of its investigation.
Tesla’s Autopilot handles some driving tasks and allows drivers to keep their hands off the wheel for extended periods of time. Tesla says Autopilot enables vehicles within their lanes to automatically steer, accelerate and brake.
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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Saturday, the Florida Highway Patrol said a Florida soldier who was stopping to assist a disabled motorist on a major highway was hit by a Tesla.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a Tesla in Autopilot model rammed a patrol car. “The trooper was outside the car and very fortunate that he did not suffer any injuries,” the agency said in a tweet.
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NHTSA said it had previously reported 17 injuries and one death in 11 crashes, including a Tesla Model 3 crash in December 2019 in which a passenger was killed after the vehicle collided with a parked fire truck in Indiana. Death had taken place.
Tesla introduced an option in July for some customers to subscribe to its advanced driver assistance software, called “Full Self-Driving Capability.” Tesla says the existing features “do not make the vehicle autonomous.”
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Among the questions NHTSA wants Tesla to answer is the “date and mileage on which the ‘Full Self Driving’ (FSD) option was enabled” for all vehicles, along with consumer complaints, field reports, crash reports and lawsuits .
NHTSA also wants Tesla to explain “methods and techniques used to prevent the use of the subject system” outside the operational design domain.
NHTSA asked Tesla to explain “testing and verification required prior to the release of the Subject system or an in-field update to the Subject system, including the hardware and software components of such system.”
Read also | US will require crash reports for driver-assistance autos
NHTSA asked Tesla to disclose any modifications or changes that “may be incorporated into vehicle production or pushed to subject vehicles in the region within the next 120 days.”
Tesla must answer NHTSA questions by October 22.
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