The U.S. government agency has started a formal investigation of Tesla's 'autopilot function', and there have been a series of accidents in which it collides with a stopped emergency vehicle.

The driving support system 'Autopilot' provided by Tesla is a function that assists the speed and steering wheel operation in the lane according to the surrounding traffic conditions. Following a series of accidents in which Tesla vehicles running on this autopilot collide with 'emergency vehicles parked on the road', the

(PDF file) https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2021/INOA-PE21020-1893.PDF

US probing Autopilot problems on 765,000 Tesla vehicles
https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-ap-top-news-61557d668b646e7ef48c5543d3a1c66c

US investigates Autopilot after 11 Teslas crashed into emergency vehicles | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/08/us-investigates-autopilot-after-11-teslas-crashed-into-emergency-vehicles/

The autopilot function provided by Tesla at the time of writing the article corresponds to 'Level 2' at the automatic driving level established by the American Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and only partial operation automation is realized. It is a stage. Therefore, the driver is the main driver of the driving operation, and it is intended that the driver holds the steering wheel even when the autopilot is turned on.

However, in some cases, the driver may trick the sensor of the Tesla car into leaving the driver's seat, and even if you let go of the steering wheel, a warning will not be issued immediately, so the Tesla car running with the autopilot function Has been frequently reported to cause accidents. Some Tesla car users dare to take a picture of driving with the driver's seat unattended and post a video on SNS .

Among the series of accidents, in recent years there have been a series of accidents in which a Tesla vehicle collides with a stopped emergency vehicle, and in May 2018, the Tesla Model S running as an autopilot became a stopped patrol car. In addition to the accident that caused a total loss due to a collision, in December 2019, there was an accident in which the Model S collided with a fire truck stopped on a highway and killed a passenger.

An accident occurred in which a Tesla Model S running with an autopilot collided with a police car and caused total loss --GIGAZINE

In response to this situation, NHTSA announced on August 16, 2021 that it will start a formal investigation of autopilot and 'traffic-sensitive cruise control' targeting a total of 765,000 Tesla vehicles. Cruise control is a sub-function of the autopilot, and although it does not operate the steering wheel, it is a function that detects the distance to the preceding vehicle and maintains an appropriate driving speed. The subjects of this survey are Tesla Model Y, Model X, Model S, and Model 3 manufactured between 2014 and 2021, which cover most of the Tesla cars sold in the United States. thing.

According to NHTSA, there have been 11 accidents in which a Tesla vehicle collided with a parked emergency vehicle in January 2018 alone, with 17 injured and one dead in the series of accidents. Most of the accidents occurred after sunset, but the emergency vehicle was informed to the surroundings that it was stopped by lights, lighting, glowing arrow boards, road cones, etc. Also, all the Tesla cars that collided were said to have autopilot or cruise control in operation.

The Associated Press notes that the survey shows that President Joe Biden is more strict about vehicle safety than former President Donald Trump. 'Today's NHTSA action is a positive step towards safety,' Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSB), said in a statement yesterday. It is important that the NHTSA has insights into what these Tesla vehicles can and cannot do, 'he said, welcoming the start of the investigation.

In addition, Tesla's stock price fell 4.3% on the 16th following the announcement that a formal investigation on autopilot will be conducted.

Tesla's autopilot is sometimes known to save the lives of drivers and passengers, but it's still not perfect. As of 2018, it has been pointed out that many autonomous driving support systems, including Tesla, have the problem that it is difficult to recognize a stopped vehicle.

Why couldn't the Tesla Model S autopilot avoid a parked fire engine? --GIGAZINE

'This study evaluates techniques and methods for monitoring, assisting, and enhancing drivers' engagement in dynamic driving tasks while the autopilot is in operation,' NHSTA said in a statement. 'It also includes investigating the circumstances that cause confirmed accidents and other similar accidents,' he said. The Associated Press points out that the findings could lead to a Tesla vehicle recall or other enforcement action by NHTSA.

Tesla and other manufacturers of autonomous driving have warned that drivers need to hold the steering wheel to intervene while driving assistance features such as the autopilot are in operation. .. Tesla detects the pressure on the steering wheel and confirms that the driver is holding the steering wheel, but the driver can easily pass through the sensor by putting a weight on the steering wheel.

Raj Rajkumar, a researcher on self-driving cars at Carnegie Mellon University, argued that an autopilot driver needs to investigate how it can detect if a driver is holding the steering wheel and paying attention to his surroundings. 'It's very easy to avoid the problem of pressure on the steering wheel. This problem has been going on since 2014. We've been discussing this for a long time,' he said.