US Investigates Crashes Involving Tesla Cars Using 'Autopilot'
2021-08-19
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1The U.S. government is investigating a series of crashes involving Tesla cars that were using the American automaker's driver assistance systems.
2The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said this week it had identified 11 crashes involving Tesla models that struck emergency vehicles that were parked on the road.
3Those accidents resulted in one death and 17 injuries.
4Three of the 11 crashes took place in California, while others were in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and other states.
5The four latest crashes happened in 2021, including one in July.
6The NHTSA said it had confirmed that the Tesla cars involved were using either the company's Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control systems just before the crashes.
7Both systems use a series of cameras and sensors to assist drivers.
8Tesla says its Autopilot system is designed to permit full self-driving capabilities.
9But the company says when using this tool, drivers should still keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take control if the system fails to work.
10When turned on, Autopilot requires drivers to agree to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times.
11The system also includes sensors to identify pressure on the steering wheel and issues warnings if it thinks the driver is not holding the wheel.
12The company's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is designed to keep the vehicle at similar speeds as surrounding traffic.
13The NHTSA said most of the accidents took place after dark.
14But it noted that the parked emergency vehicles used safety measures, such as flashing lights, flares or road markers.
15The agency said the investigation will cover 765,000 Tesla vehicles.
16That number includes nearly every vehicle the company has sold in the U.S. since the start of the 2014 model year.
17The NHTSA announced it had begun its investigation in documents published online.
18Tesla has not officially commented.
19Telsa chief Elon Musk has repeatedly defended the Autopilot system.
20In April, he tweeted that Tesla vehicles using Autopilot were "now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than (an) average vehicle."
21The agency closed an earlier investigation into Autopilot in 2017 without taking any action.
22After its new investigation, the NHTSA could decide again to take no action.
23Or it could demand a vehicle recall, which could place limits on how, when and where Autopilot operates.
24In a statement to the French press agency AFP, an NHTSA spokesperson said the agency wants the public to know that "no commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves."
25The spokesperson noted that driver assistance programs can improve safety, help drivers avoid accidents and reduce the severity of crashes.
26But the spokesperson added that, "as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly."
27The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said Autopilot was operating in at least three deadly Tesla crashes in the U.S. since 2016.
28It has criticized Tesla's lack of system safeguards for Autopilot, and NHTSA's failure to take steps to ensure the safety of the system.
29The chair of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, praised the NHTSA's new investigation.
30She said the board has urged the agency to develop standards for driver assistance systems.
31It has also called for requirements for automakers to use "system safeguards that limit the use of automated vehicle control systems to those conditions for which they were designed."
32Jason Levine, head of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, also welcomed the new investigation.
33He said the NHTSA had finally answered longstanding calls "to investigate Tesla for putting technology on the road that will be foreseeably misused in a way that is leading to crashes, injuries, and deaths."
34Levine added that he thinks the investigation should be expanded to include crashes beyond those just involving emergency vehicles.
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The U.S. government is investigating a series of crashes involving Tesla cars that were using the American automaker's driver assistance systems. 2The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said this week it had identified 11 crashes involving Tesla models that struck emergency vehicles that were parked on the road. Those accidents resulted in one death and 17 injuries. 3Three of the 11 crashes took place in California, while others were in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and other states. The four latest crashes happened in 2021, including one in July. 4The NHTSA said it had confirmed that the Tesla cars involved were using either the company's Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control systems just before the crashes. Both systems use a series of cameras and sensors to assist drivers. 5Tesla says its Autopilot system is designed to permit full self-driving capabilities. But the company says when using this tool, drivers should still keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take control if the system fails to work. 6When turned on, Autopilot requires drivers to agree to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times. The system also includes sensors to identify pressure on the steering wheel and issues warnings if it thinks the driver is not holding the wheel. 7The company's Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is designed to keep the vehicle at similar speeds as surrounding traffic. 8The NHTSA said most of the accidents took place after dark. But it noted that the parked emergency vehicles used safety measures, such as flashing lights, flares or road markers. 9The agency said the investigation will cover 765,000 Tesla vehicles. That number includes nearly every vehicle the company has sold in the U.S. since the start of the 2014 model year. 10The NHTSA announced it had begun its investigation in documents published online. 11Tesla has not officially commented. Telsa chief Elon Musk has repeatedly defended the Autopilot system. In April, he tweeted that Tesla vehicles using Autopilot were "now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than (an) average vehicle." 12The agency closed an earlier investigation into Autopilot in 2017 without taking any action. After its new investigation, the NHTSA could decide again to take no action. Or it could demand a vehicle recall, which could place limits on how, when and where Autopilot operates. 13In a statement to the French press agency AFP, an NHTSA spokesperson said the agency wants the public to know that "no commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves." 14The spokesperson noted that driver assistance programs can improve safety, help drivers avoid accidents and reduce the severity of crashes. But the spokesperson added that, "as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly." 15The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said Autopilot was operating in at least three deadly Tesla crashes in the U.S. since 2016. It has criticized Tesla's lack of system safeguards for Autopilot, and NHTSA's failure to take steps to ensure the safety of the system. 16The chair of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, praised the NHTSA's new investigation. She said the board has urged the agency to develop standards for driver assistance systems. It has also called for requirements for automakers to use "system safeguards that limit the use of automated vehicle control systems to those conditions for which they were designed." 17Jason Levine, head of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, also welcomed the new investigation. He said the NHTSA had finally answered longstanding calls "to investigate Tesla for putting technology on the road that will be foreseeably misused in a way that is leading to crashes, injuries, and deaths." Levine added that he thinks the investigation should be expanded to include crashes beyond those just involving emergency vehicles. 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Susan Shand was the editor. 20We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 21___________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23park - v. to leave a vehicle in a particular place for a period of time 24steering - n. the controlling of a vehicle in one direction or another 25flash - v. to shine brightly and suddenly 26flare - n. a piece of safety equipment that produces a bright signal 27approach - v. to come close in distance or time 28recall - v. to order the return of something 29commercial - adj. relating to buying and selling things 30automate -v. to use machines and computers instead of people to do something 31foreseeable - adj. as far in the future as you can imagine