The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot assisted driving software according to a posting on its website — an inflection point that could signal the introduction of self-driving regulations.
The regulator will “assess the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforce the driver’s engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation,” according to the filing.
Since 2018 alone, the NHTSA has recorded 11 crashes involving Teslas on Autopilot hitting service vehicles that had their sirens turned on or were using flares to warn oncoming drivers, according to the announcement.
The regulator is examining almost all cars that the company has sold in the US since 2014, totaling some 765,000 vehicles.
The news comes after several high-profile crashes, some of which ended in deaths, involving Teslas that were reportedly on Autopilot during the moments leading up to the crash.
Whether the NHTSA’s investigation will lead to action is anybody’s guess. The Autopilot feature has been under scrutiny for a number of years, but regulatory bodies have arguably yet to introduce any laws that would direct Tesla’s actions in any significant ways.
Reference- NHTSA website, Wired, Futurism, Inside EVs