Reporters were more interested in anything Tesla-related on the day that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released information regarding road fatalities. According to Reuters, Ann Carlson, the acting head of the NHTSA, spoke to reporters “on the sidelines of an event in Washington.” The government’s investigation into Tesla-related crashes and the possibility of eliminating the “nag” on the steering wheel for Autopilot were the topics of those sideline remarks.
Moreover, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that fatal car crashes in the United States appear to be leveling off after two years of dramatic increases. Back to Tesla, though.
Autopilot Changes are Coming
Another part of the review is said to look into whether Tesla drivers are paying attention while operating Autopilot vehicles. Carlson was particularly interested in Elon Musk’s most recent tweet because the onboard alert system that measures driver awareness has been activated in several crashes that the agency is looking into.
As previously reported, Musk responded to a tweet from @WholeMarsBlog in which he asked for users who had driven more than 10,000 FSD miles to be able to disable the “terrible steering wheel nag.” “Agreed, update coming in January,” Musk replied.
“A very extensive investigation is ongoing… We are in conversations with Tesla about this latest communication,” Carlson told reporters.
Musk recently tweeted that a significant update to Full Self Driving, which will include numerous significant improvements, would be released in two weeks. This adjustment to the tension of the steering wheel might be included in the FSD Beta V11.3 update, given the timetable. As a result, it makes sense that Tesla has been in touch with the NHTSA. The autonomous vehicle vision that Musk has been working toward for years could be significantly affected by the findings of its investigation.
Removing the Nag
DirtyTesla wrote in a recent tweet that he had been told by a source that Transport Canada is already considering banning FSD Beta in Canada and that the removal of the “nag” on the steering wheel could be the deciding factor.
DirtyTesla shared the message on Twitter:
“Transport Canada has been close to recommending they pull the plug on Beta in Canada because they don’t feel testing beta software with road users is safe. If the nag is removed they will most likely recommend it be pulled.”
The steering wheel’s reliance on detecting force was never a good idea. There are a lot of prompts for “not paying attention” because it doesn’t provide continuous monitoring and doesn’t always correctly detect resistance on the wheel.
Tesla and the NHTSA are coming to a mutually beneficial agreement because it appears that they are already in talks. BlueCruise and other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) already offer hands-free driving on some highways. BlueCruise only uses a camera similar to Tesla’s in-cabin camera to monitor driver behavior.
The NHTSA has conducted nearly 40 special investigations in the past seven years where they suspected Autopilot was being used. Their concern is understandable; however, Tesla should do more to put their minds at ease.