A few days after reports emerged that Tesla was allowing drivers to play video games on dashboard touch screens while cars were moving, Mercedes-Benz has issued a US repatriation on the same issue.
A German automaker said in a document sent Friday by U.S. regulators that the problem had affected 227 vehicles and had already been fixed by updating the internal computer server.
But the fact that Mercedes has remembered concerns about impaired driving, and Tesla has not yet done so, raises questions about whether car safety standards are being applied equally by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“MB follows regulatory rules as it should – in stark contrast to what we have seen in Tesla,” said Philip Koopman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
If NHTSA does not take action against Tesla, the agency will have one Tesla and one Mercedes and other car manufacturers, Koopman said.
NHTSA did not speak directly to the double standard or Tesla, but said in a statement Friday that the automotive safety law prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles that pose a safety risk.
“Every automotive manufacturer in the United States has a similar responsibility to identify and quickly repair, free, such safety defects in their vehicles,” the statement said.
Driving While Driving: Tesla Allows You, Mercedes Announces Remembrance
The institute said it is examining how car manufacturers identify and protect themselves from the dangers of disruption due to errors, misuse or targeted use of infotainment screens.
The NHTSA said it kept in touch with car manufacturers about their concerns, as well as reviewing consumer complaints and “a large amount of information companies need to send regularly, looking for evidence of safety risks. .
A message was left on Friday demanding comment from Tesla, who dissolved his department of media relations.
Mercedes said in certain documents on EQS vehicles 2021 and 2022 and S, drivers can access television and internet programs while cars are moving. The automaker said it intended to disable features while the cars were moving, but the recalled cars had the wrong computer.
“If an insider chooses a job or an application while the car is driving, it could cause the driver to be distracted, which could increase the risk of a crash,” the company wrote in a statement. The recovered cars have active accounts and are connected to “Mercedes me”.
Mercedes has stated that it has no reports of any accidents or injuries found in a company car in Germany.
Last month the owner of a Tesla near Portland, Oregon, filed a complaint with NHTSA after discovering that while driving, he could play video games and browse the internet on his 2021 Tesla Model 3 screen. The center said on Thursday it was contacting Tesla. about the matter.
NHTSA is already investigating why Tesla “Autopilot” for slow-moving driving continues to hit emergency vehicles, and questioned why Tesla did not include memorabilia while conducting an online update on the air in an attempt to solve the problem security problem.
It also looks at Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software after receiving a complaint that it almost caused a crash.
Tesla says there is no system that can drive cars and drivers must always be ready to intervene.
Jason Levine, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said the automotive industry seemed to have reached the point where it had to have infotainment screens where it would have to “choose whether it would be a help or a barrier” to disrupted driving.
“We are pleased to see Mercedes remembering and addressing this senseless danger to everyone on the road, but we urge the NHTSA to immediately ensure that all on-screen entertainment interruptions are disabled when vehicles are moving, no matter what the manufacturer does,” Levine said. it said.
Mercedes may have been paying close attention to US safety rules after it was required to pay a $ 13 million fine (approximately Rs. 98.46 crores) to the NHTSA in 2019 for a series of failed reporting cases involving recalled vehicles.
The car manufacturer agreed to pay for the repairs and repairs after the agency suspected that Mercedes was late in reporting the safety issues and was not immediately sending notices.
The US Mercedes unit said it did nothing on purpose.
