Detroit — The government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether recall last year of Tesla’s Autopilot driving system has done enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that it is concerned about the December recall of more than 2 million vehicles, almost all of the vehicles Tesla had sold at the time.
The agency pushed the company to call back after a two-year investigation into Autopilot’s driver monitoring system, which measures torque on the steering wheel from the driver’s hands.
The fix involves an online software update to increase warnings to drivers. But the agency said in documents that it found evidence of crashes after the fix and that Tesla added updates that were not part of the recall.
“This investigation will examine why these updates were not part of the recall or determined to address a defect that poses an unreasonable safety risk,” the agency wrote.
A message was left Friday morning seeking comment from Tesla.
The new recall investigation covers Model Y,
NHTSA also said Friday that it is concerned that the name “Autopilot” “may lead drivers to believe that automation has greater capabilities than it does and invite drivers to place too much trust in the automating “.
The agency said Tesla reported 20 accidents that apparently occurred after the recall was issued. The agency has asked Tesla and other automakers to report accidents involving partially or fully automated driving systems.
NHTSA said it would evaluate the recall, including the “significance and scope” of Autopilot’s controls to combat abuse, confusion and use in environments for which the system is not intended. designed.
He also said Tesla said owners could decide whether they wanted to participate in certain parts of the recall and that it allowed drivers to opt out of parts of it.
Security advocates have has long expressed his concern This Autopilot, which can keep a vehicle in its lane and away from objects in front of it, was not designed to operate on roads other than limited-access highways.
The investigation comes just a week after a Tesla that may have been operating on autopilot struck and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle, raising questions about whether a recent recall went far enough to ensure that the Tesla drivers using Autopilot pay attention to the road.
After the April 19 crash in a suburban area about 15 miles northeast of the city, the driver of a 2022 Tesla Model S told a Washington State Patrol officer that he was using on autopilot and that he was looking at his cell phone while the Tesla was moving.
“The next thing he knew, there was a bang and the vehicle swerved while accelerating and collided with the motorcycle in front of him,” the officer wrote in a probable cause document.
The 56-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide “based on his admitted inattention while driving, while in autopilot mode, and cell phone distraction while driving forward, causing trust the machine to do the driving for you.” the affidavit said.
The Tesla driver told the officer he was heading home after eating lunch when the crash happened around 3:45 p.m.
The motorcyclist, Jeffrey Nissen, 28, of Stanwood, Washington, was underneath the car and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities reported.
Authorities said they had not yet independently verified whether autopilot was in use at the time of the crash.
The Associated Press reported shortly after the recall that experts said it relied on technology that might not work.
Tesla, the leading electric vehicle maker, reluctantly agreed to the recall last year after NHTSA found the driver monitoring system was faulty and required repair.
The system sends alerts to drivers if it fails to detect the torque of hands on the steering wheel, a system that experts say is ineffective.
Government documents filed by Tesla indicate that the online software change will increase warnings and alerts to drivers to keep their hands on the wheel. This may also limit the areas in which the most commonly used versions of Autopilot can be used, although this is not entirely clear in Tesla’s documents.
The NHTSA began its investigation in 2021, after receiving 11 reports that Teslas using the 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 passing each other on the road. vehicle trajectory, causing a total of 17 deaths. .
Research by NHTSA, the National Transportation Safety Board and other investigators shows that simply measuring torque on the steering wheel does not ensure that drivers are paying enough attention. Experts say night vision cameras are needed to monitor drivers’ eyes and ensure they are looking closely at the road.
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