The US government has launched a formal investigation into Tesla automatic driving system after colliding with parked vehicles.
The investigation involved 765,000 vehicles, almost everything Tesla has sold in the United States since the start of the 2014 model year.
Of the accidents identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of the investigation, 17 people were injured and one was killed.
NHTSA says it has identified 11 accidents since 2018 when Teslas on Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control hit cars in the square where first responders used flashing lights, headlights, flashlight board or accident warnings.
The organization announced the move on Monday on its website.
The investigation is another indication that the NHTSA under President Joe Biden is taking a tougher approach to safety in automotive vehicles than in the previous administration.
In the past the organization has been reluctant to control new technologies for fear of disrupting the adoption of life-saving programs.
The survey covers the entire Tesla current program of models, Models Y, X, S and 3 from the 2014 model year to 2021.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which has also investigated some of Tesla’s collisions in 2016, has suggested that NHTSA and Tesla limit the use of Autopilot in areas where they can operate safely.
The NTSB also recommended that the NHTSA requires Tesla to have a better system in place to ensure that drivers pay attention.
NHTSA has not yet acted on any of the recommendations. The NTSB has no enforcement capacity and may make recommendations to other state agencies.
“Today’s action by the NHTSA is a positive step towards security,” NTSB Chairperson Jennifer L. Homendy said in a statement Monday. “As we roam the developing world of driving development programs, it is important that the NHTSA has an understanding of what these vehicles can, and cannot, do.”
Last year the NTSB blamed Tesla, drivers and lax law by NHTSA for two collisions in which Teslas crashed under a tractor-trailer crash.
The NTSB took the unusual step of blaming the NHTSA for its role in the accident by failing to ensure that car manufacturers put up guards to prevent the use of electronic driving systems.
The organization made the decision after investigating a 2019 crash in Delray Beach, Florida, in which a 50-year-old Tesla Model 3 driver was killed.
“We are pleased to see that NHTSA has finally acknowledged that we have been waiting a long time to investigate Tesla for putting technology on the road that will be misused in a way that will lead to accidents, injuries and deaths,” said Jason Levine, executive director of the Automatic Safety Safety Center.
“If anything, this investigation needs to outweigh any accidents involving first responders’ cars because the risk is on all drivers, passengers and pedestrians when Autopilot is operational.”
Autopilot is often misused by Tesla drivers, who were caught driving drunk or riding in the back seat while the car was down the California highway.
A message has been left for Tesla, who has sacked the media relations office. Tesla shares, based in Palo Alto, California, fell 4.3 percent on Monday.
NHTSA has deployed investigative teams in 31 accidents involving automated systems that assist drivers since June 2016. Such systems can keep the car focused on its line and a safe distance from the cars in front of it.
Of those accidents, 25 involved Tesla Autopilot in which 10 deaths were reported, according to data released by the organization.
Tesla and other manufacturers warn that drivers using these systems must be prepared to intervene at all times. In addition to crossing semis, Tesop users using Autopilot crashed into parked emergency vehicles and a roadblock.
The NHTSA investigation is out of date, said Raj Rajkumar, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University who specializes in automotive automotive studies.
Tesla’s failure to properly monitor drivers to ensure they pay attention should be at the forefront of the investigation, Rajkumar said. Teslas gets pressure on the steering wheel to make sure the drivers are working, but the drivers often cheat the system.
“It’s very easy to skip a driving thing,” Rajkumar said. “It’s been going on since 2014. We’ve been discussing this for a while now.”
The NHTSA-based emergency vehicle collision began on January 22, 2018 in Culver City, California, near Los Angeles when Tesla using an Autopilot struck a fire extinguisher suspended on its lane with its headlights on. The crew was carrying another accident at the time.
Since then, the agency has reported accidents in Laguna Beach, California; Norwalk, Connecticut; Cloverdale, Indiana; West Bridgewater, Massachusetts; Cochise County, Arizona; Charlotte, North Carolina; Montgomery County, Texas; Lansing, Michigan; and Miami, Florida.
“The investigation will examine the technology and methods used to monitor, assist and enforce the driver’s involvement and dynamic driving activity during Autopilot operations,” NHTSA said in its investigation documents.
In addition, the investigation will include the acquisition of the object and system by system, and where it is allowed to operate.
The NHTSA says it will investigate “contributing circumstances” in accidents, as well as similar crashes.
Investigations may lead to retaliation or another act of compulsion by the NHTSA.
“NHTSA reminds the public that no vehicles on sale today can drive them,” the organization said in a statement. “Every available vehicle requires a human driver to carry
