US asks for assistance from 12 major Car Companies in Tesla Probe

Washington – Auto safety regulators in the United States told the news outlets that they are in talks with top 12 car manufacturers to assist them in investigating the car crash cases that involved Tesla cars colliding with emergency vehicles in the state while on Autopilot mode. 

The list involves General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co and other major automakers to whom the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mailed letters, containing some questions as the government agency is conducting a “Comparative Analysis with other production vehicles equipped with the ability to control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances.”

The NHTSA asked for help from these automakers for help in the Tesla probe.

In August 2021, NHTSA started an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot (driver assistance system) after the news of the car being involved in hitting emergency vehicles, circulated in the country and made the headlines of 12 car crashes overall. The investigation was done into 765,000 Tesla vehicles of the US manufactured from 2014 to 2021. 

The company claims that the Autopilot system in their cars provides the drivers with a drive without using the steering wheel for long periods. Furthermore, this system helps them brake, steer and accelerate the vehicle in their line with their hands-free. 

The NHTSA asked the carmakers, which they have included in the list for Tesla Probe, to list any collisions that involved the tesla car’s advanced autopilot system at “anytime during the period beginning 30 seconds immediately prior to the commencement of the crash.“

The letters sent to the car manufacturing firms involve another question, how the vehicle determines if the driver is engaged in some other activity and when to take control of the vehicle completely? The agency gave a deadline of November 3 to some car manufacturers, while for others, it is November 17.

NHTSA also wrote to automakers to present detailed “strategies for detecting and responding to the presence of first responder/law enforcement vehicles.”

On August 13, the agency sent a letter to Tesla consisting of 11 pages containing numerous questions that the company must answer before the deadline, October 22. NHTSA further revealed that it had received reports of 12 car collisions involving Tesla vehicles, injuring 17 persons and killing 1

At the beginning of this month, the agency disclosed that it is also investigating an incident that took place in New York City. The incident involved a 52-year-old man hit by a Tesla vehicle while fixing the flat tire on his car.