• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: The Car That Started a ’70s Car Design Craze
  • Inflation Reduction Act Paying Off as Battery Makers Invest Billions in U.S. Factories
  • Back in Production, Ford Again Raises Pricing for F-150 Lightning.
  • First Look: 2024 Hyundai Sonata
  • Despite Two Decades of Warnings, Distracted Driving Remains a Major Problem
  • Treasury Dept Ruling Expected to Cut EV Tax Credits
  • Sen. Manchin Threatening to Sue Over New EV Battery Rules
  • Ford Bolsters EV Supply Chain with $4.5B Nickel Processing Plant
  • Unified UAW Talks Tough Before Contract Talks with Detroit Three
  • Faraday Future May Have One: Production Begins
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Nissan Rogue Platinum AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Soul GT-Line
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford Maverick Tremor
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S
    • A Week With: 2023 Infiniti QX80
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo
    • First Drive: 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
    • First Drive: 2023 Dodge Hornet GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70
    • First Drive: 2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce AWD
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Safety > Federal Safety Regulators Turn Heat Up on Tesla About Alleged Autopilot Failures

        Federal Safety Regulators Turn Heat Up on Tesla About Alleged Autopilot Failures

        Probe to look at numerous crashes — some fatal — since early 2018.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Aug. 17, 2021

        Federal safety regulators have launched a broad investigation of Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system as the number of crashes — some fatal — linked to the technology continues to grow.

        Tesla Autopilot Crash 1-18
        Tesla’s under investigation by NHTSA for nearly a dozen crashes involving emergency vehicles while the car’s Autopilot feature was engaged.

        The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier launched a number of narrower Autopilot probes, starting with one that followed a 2016 Florida crash that killed a former Navy SEAL. The latest investigation will examine 11 crashes that occurred in the U.S. since January 2018, including ones where vehicles allegedly operating on Autopilot struck stationary police cars and fire trucks.

        “Most incidents took place after dark and the crash scenes encountered included scene control measures such as first responder vehicle lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, and road cones,” NHTSA said in a document prepared by the Office of Defects Investigation. “The involved subject vehicles were all confirmed to have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes.”

        The Autopilot system — which relies on a mix of sensor devices, microprocessors and software — was first introduced in mid-2014. The technology is designed to help keep vehicles like the Tesla Models S, X, 3 and Y in their lane, keep the vehicle safely spaced in traffic and avoid collisions.

        Making promises you can’t keep

        But critics contend the EV automaker has routinely overstated the technology’s capabilities. After the initial launch, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote a widely seen tweet showing himself and his former wife driving off in a Model S with their hands out the window.

        This Michigan State Police cruiser was hit by a Tesla reportedly while the Autopilot was engaged.

        The latest version of the system has been promoted by Tesla as “full self-driving,” even though the company website notes that it is “intended for use with a fully attentive driver who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any moment.”

        But, like Musk, many owners have pushed well beyond what Tesla officially recommends. There have been numerous tweets, Instagram posts, Youtube and Tik-Tok videos showing drivers falling asleep behind the wheel, even climbing into the back seat while their vehicles are operating in Autopilot mode.

        In the 2016 Florida crash, NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board both concluded that former SEAL Joshua Brown was watching a video device, rather than paying attention to the road, when his car struck a truck broadside. Regulators also determined that Autopilot failed to recognize the truck against the backdrop of a bright sky.

        Emergency responders at risk

        In at least some of the 11 crashes NHTSA is looking at, Tesla vehicles believed to have been operating in Autopilot struck stationary vehicles operated by emergency responders.

        Tesla Laguna Beach crash
        A Tesla Model S crashed into a police car in Laguna Beach, California.

        Radar and even camera sensors can have problems recognizing stationary obstacles, several experts told TheDetroitBureau.com. Such situations are even more complex when cones or emergency vehicles are involved, Duke University engineering professor Mary Cummings told the Wall Street Journal.

        The problem is that each emergency situation presents a different visual target that systems like Autopilot may not have been trained to recognize. “This is why emergency situations are so problematic,” Cummings said. “The visual presentation is never the same.”

        Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the new NHTSA probe. But CEO Musk has frequently defended the Autopilot system, often claiming it is safer to use than relying on human drivers alone. He is also promising to bring out a fully hands-free version of the technology, though the rollout has repeatedly been delayed and now is not expected to occur until at least 2022.

        Entire industry could face broader scrutiny

        The auto industry, as a whole, is rushing to bring autonomous technology to public roads. General Motors’ San Francisco-based Cruise subsidiary is one of several firms cleared to begin testing fully driverless ride-hailing vehicles. Google spinoff Waymo has been one of several operating slightly less sophisticated technology still requiring a “backup operator” to remain behind the wheel ready to take control in an emergency.

        A Tesla Model S was completely destroyed in a May 2016 crash that killed Joshua Brown. It was the first incident investigated by NHTSA.

        A number of manufacturers, meanwhile, have started offering semi-autonomous systems, such as GM’s Super Cruise, capable of operating hands-free — with a driver at the ready — in carefully defined situations.

        There have been numerous minor incidents involving these technologies, though only one fatality, when an Uber test vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian near Phoenix.

        Critics contend Teslas have had an inordinate number of problems, worsened by the mixed message the company sends about Autopilot’s capabilities.

        “Every other week”

        “It seems like every other week we’re hearing about a new vehicle that crashed when it was on Autopilot” Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said during a June 2021 hearing.

        NHTSA’s decision to launch the new probe was praised by various safety and consumer groups. The government agency’s “investigative actions are commendable,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “They also highlight the need for minimum performance standards for vehicles with automated driving technology to protect first responders and all road users.”

        Tesla Autopilot - illustration
        While Tesla’s Autopilot offers hands-free capabilities, it has frequently been faulted because drivers aren’t required to constantly monitor the vehicle’s performance.

        But some critics feel NHTSA has taken longer than needed to put a spotlight on Tesla.

        NHTSA also under fire

        “Tesla has treated its customers like guinea pigs and deployed a faulty technology that can kill people with the false promise it is an Autopilot,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “We have long known that Tesla’s camera and radar mistakes signs, vehicles, and even the moon for other objects that are not there. It was dangerous to allow Tesla to deploy an unapproved technology and test it in real time on real people. Now it’s time for NHTSA to investigate how much Tesla knew about its defects and how dangerous it really is.”

        The safety agency did not provide a timetable for completing the Tesla probe but it did say that it “will assess the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforce the driver’s engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation.”

        How NHTSA might respond to any faults it might discover remains to be seen.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: The Car That Started a ’70s Car Design Craze

        Today
        Ultium Battery Pack

        Inflation Reduction Act Paying Off as Battery Makers Invest Billions in U.S. Factories

        Yesterday
        2022 Ford F-150 Lightning - muddy on trail

        Back in Production, Ford Again Raises Pricing for F-150 Lightning.

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: