The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for stronger federal requirements for the design and use of automated driving systems on public roads in the U. S., and it's citing Tesla as an example of why. In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month, NTSB chief Robert Sumwalt named Tesla 16 times, and pointed to the company's willingness to put a beta product on the road as one major reason to make rules clear and stringent at a federal level."Tesla recently released a beta version of its Level 2 Autopilot system, described as having full self-driving capability. By releasing the system, Tesla is testing on public roads a highly automated AV technology but with limited oversight or reporting requirements. Although Tesla includes a disclaimer that 'currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,' NHTSA's hands-off approach to oversight of AV testing poses a potential risk to motorists and other road users.""Level 2," refers to vehicles that have some automated functions, but require drivers to remain attentive and keep their hands on the wheel. The highest level, level 5, would be a completely autonomous vehicle that never requires driver intervention. While both the NTSB and NHTSA are part of the Department of Transportation, now led by Pete Buttigieg, their roles are distinct. The NTSB investigates accidents to determine underlying causes of damaging incidents, including fatal Tesla crashes involving Autopilot in Mountain View, California, in March 2018 and Del Ray Beach, Florida, in March 2019. The board also makes safety recommendations to regulators and the auto industry. It's up to its sister agency, the NHTSA, to mandate recalls of any vehicles, systems or parts deemed defective or unsafe for use. It also falls within the NHTSA's purview to establish standards and reporting requirements for vehicle safety and design, including fuel economy standards. In the past, NHTSA has hesitated to regulate automated driving systems from the likes of Tesla, GM, Volvo, and a bevy of other automakers and tech companies including Amazon's Zoox, Alphabet's Waymo and a number of start-ups. The agency's Deputy Administrator James Owens has said he did not want to "stymie innovation" with premature regulation. Instead, the agency left the task mostly to states. Today, Tesla sells a premium software package for $10,000 and markets it as "Full Self Driving" (or FSD). The company said it will soon make FSD available on a subscription basis for those who want it but don't want to pay the up-front fee. Tesla gives select customers early access to a beta version of FSD as well — CEO Elon Musk recently encouraged customers with FSD to sign up for beta access. Besides FSD, Tesla vehicles include a standard set of automated driving features, dubbed Autopilot.


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Article Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/tesla-is-using-customers-to-test-av-tech-on-public-roads-ntsb.html


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