The federal safety regulator in the U.S. has requested help from 12 other automobile manufacturers as it investigates Tesla crashes with emergency responder vehicles involving Autopilot.
On Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it sent letters to 12 companies including Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors (GM) and Ford as it works on a “comparative analysis” for the ongoing investigation, according to Reuters. The analysis will reportedly use “production vehicles equipped with the ability to control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances.”
Autopilot, Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), has been involved in a string of crashes with emergency response vehicles parked on the shoulders of highways. Most recently, a Tesla collided with a state trooper in Orland, Florida parked on the shoulder while using Autopilot.
Ford BlueCruise Reviewed by Sandy Munro: Tesla Autopilot Better [VIDEO] https://t.co/FDpqrLfCoe
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In the letter to automakers, the NHTSA asked the companies to list any specific incidents in which crashes had ADAS engaged, “anytime during the period beginning 30 seconds immediately prior to the commencement of the crash.”
The letters also encouraged automakers to share how their ADAS programs help to keep drivers engaged when the system can’t navigate for the human driver.
While the NHTSA gave automakers until either November 3 or November 17 to respond, Tesla must respond to its letter from the agency regarding the investigation by October 22.
