SHIFT UNDER BIDEN
Under US regulations, new vehicles are not systematically certified by safety officials before they hit the market. Rather, automakers must simply certify that the products comply with the rules.
The NHTSA only steps in if there is a problem with a vehicle that raises questions about its compliance, or if it is thought to be unsafe.
In some cases, regulators may not have any rules governing systems like adaptive cruise control, said Bryant Walker Smith, a specialist on law and mobility affiliated with Stanford Law School.
During Donald Trump’s presidency, NHTSA avoided actions that slowed the development of driverless technology.
But after President Joe Biden took office, the NHTSA began to look more closely at the safety questions connected to driver-assistance programs.
In June 2021, the agency required Tesla and other auto manufacturers that make cars with driver assistance systems or automated driving to report crashes.
It has also made repeated requests for information from Tesla and other automakers during the investigation into the accidents with emergency vehicles.
“We continue to research new technologies, including the driver support features, and monitor their real-world performances,” said a NHTSA spokesperson.
“DANGEROUS AND IRRESPONSIBLE”
Tesla now installs on all new vehicles Autopilot, a system that can match a vehicle’s speed to that of surrounding traffic and assist with steering.
The company also offers features such as auto lane change and parking assistance in packages called “Enhanced Autopilot” or “Full Self-Driving Capability”, depending on the countries.
Tesla describes as “upcoming” the feature “auto-steering on city streets”.
However, the company has already started testing this function on about 60,000 vehicles that are authorised to download FSD Beta.
“While using Autopilot, it is your responsibility to stay alert, keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times and maintain control of your car,” Tesla says on its website.
Tesla has told California officials that its current systems are at “level 2” on the Society of Automotive Engineers scale of autonomy and therefore do not need to comply with rules for autonomous driving.
But Musk said his ultimate aim is a vehicle that can operate without a driver, a function that critics say has already been confounded by Tesla’s use of terms like “Autopilot” and “Full Self Driving”.
“What it calls ‘full self driving’ literally needs a human driver,” Smith said. “Tesla is really trying to have it both ways, in a way that is disingenuous and irresponsible.”
Smith contrasted Tesla’s approach with other companies such as Waymo, which have developed technologies that are further along on the autonomy scale with less fanfare.
He called on Tesla to employ technologies that ensure drivers are attentive, avoid misleading consumers and to “act like a trustworthy company.”
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