Driver-Assistance technology, under regulatory scrutiny!
Federal regulators are tightening their oversight of car crashes that involve advanced driver-assistance and automated-driving features!
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a new order on that companies must report serious crashes involving driver-assistance and automated-driving systems to authorities within a day of learning about them.
In addition,
manufacturers and operators will also have to issue broader monthly reports about their vehicles’ safety.
*AVIA Tweet on differentiation of Driver assistance and AV drive
It's critical to understand: driver-assist tech is *NOT* an autonomous vehicle.
We're calling on all policymakers, journalists & other stakeholders to use the accurate terminology and clearly delineate between the 2 distinct technologies pic.twitter.com/xY7tzGxtE3
— Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (@theavindustry) November 16, 2021
“Gathering data will help instill public confidence that the federal government is closely overseeing the safety of automated vehicles,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Steven Cliff said.
NHTSA said it has received reports of 130 crashes involving these systems, mostly from Cruise and Waymo. Those companies reported 23 and 62 crashes, respectively. NHTSA received no reports of fatalities in autonomous vehicles.
Tesla’s Autopilot system has drawn regulators’ attention.
NHTSA also released data on crashes involving more-automated systems, such as those deployed in vehicles operated by Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo LLC and GM’s Cruise LLC. Those vehicles are equipped with technology that fully automates driving in certain circumstances.
The data will help investigators track patterns in automated-driving crashes, the agency said.
*Musk on Autopilot steering role
Owner video of Autopilot steering to avoid collision with a truckhttps://t.co/FZUAXSjlR7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2016
The order applies to simpler driver-assistance features that are already relatively commonplace, as well as more automated systems that are just beginning to gain wider adoption.
The technology under scrutiny includes lane-keeping assistance and cruise-control systems that keep a fixed distance behind a leading car, as well as higher-tech systems such as features offered by Tesla that can guide a car along highways with minimal driver input.
Potential safety issues with the systems include sensor failures and faulty decisions by software algorithms, NHTSA said in the order.
