The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating several instances of Tesla vehicles colliding with emergency vehicles at traffic crash scenes. According to the NHTSA, there are at least 11 such incidents, 7 of which have resulted in injury or death.
Tesla is known for, among other things, its advanced driver assistance features. The high-end “Autopilot” feature allows for a large amount of vehicle autonomy, but it has been subject to scrutiny before. Indeed, advancements across the entire industry have led to some drivers relying too heavily on assistance and safety technology, which has made some driving situations perplexingly less safe.
Tesla warns that its assistance features, including Autopilot, still require constant driver engagement including eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
The high-end automaker was in the news earlier this year for another safety issue when it agreed to recall 134,000 vehicles for touchscreen problems. Although Tesla balked at first, it agreed to the recall in February of this year. The touchscreen controls the backup camera, defroster, defogger, and other important safety features.
