[ad_1]
A new government report on partially automated vehicle crashes raises safety concerns that could pump the brakes in the development of self-driving vehicles.
Automakers reported 392 vehicle crashes with partially assisted driving technology between last July and May 15, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported on Wednesday.
Among them, electric car manufacturer Tesla leads with 273 accidents, and Honda has 90 accidents. Subaru has reported 10 crashes, and all other automakers have reported five crashes or less.
The US safety regulator warned in a news release that the report collected under the Standing General Order to more than 100 manufacturers on June 21 was “not comprehensive”.
Industry watchers said the report justified further scrutiny from automakers racing to produce fully self-driving cars that go beyond existing functions like automatic lane centering.
“This latest report shows that with the proliferation of self-driving cars we need to move slowly. I think there seems to be another agenda behind this major effort to fully automate the driving process,” said Bob Norton, a former assistant general counsel at Chrysler.
Mr Norton, now vice-president at Hillsdale College, added that he was annoyed by the “mixed messages” of some new car ads that showed families “clapping to music on the radio” as a car drove itself.
“We must stress that drivers should always keep their hands on the steering wheel and their eyes on the road,” he said.
Tesla’s accidents included malfunctions of Autopilot, “Full Self-Driving”, Traffic Aware Cruise Control, and other software. Self-driving software has allowed some of its electric cars to pass stop signs.
Kelly Funkhouser, director of vehicle technology at Consumer Reports, said accidents could be underreported on the NHTSA tally.
“There needs to be better auditing of these systems and better standards for collecting, recording and reporting data,” said Funkhouser. “For example, there doesn’t seem to be any reports from several automakers that we know have systems similar to Autopilot.”
Tesla, which extensively recalled electric car models earlier this year amid a federal investigation into its safety practices, did not respond to a request for comment.
In an emailed statement to The Washington Times, American Honda said some crashes may not appear on this week’s tally due to government reporting guidelines.
The company wrote that because the crashes were based on “unconfirmed customer testimonies” about Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, “given the more precise data and time, it is highly likely that some reported incidents did not meet NHTSA’s reporting criteria.”
“So Honda urges caution when making comparisons. [required] “The crash report data among automakers is data, as apples-to-apples comparisons may not be possible at this time,” the automaker said.
In the statement, Honda’s report said that “no flaws have so far been detected in ADAS features in Acura or Honda vehicles.”
Marc Scribner, a senior transportation policy analyst at the Libertarian Reason Foundation, said that although the report “raises serious questions” about self-driving technology, it should not be used “to declare any of the technologies unsafe or to guide enforcement action.”
“Politicians must be mindful of understanding the limits of this data and the differences between the classes of automation systems covered by the report to avoid backlash based on fundamental technical errors,” Scribner said. Said.
Other proponents of the technology agreed. “Human factors are responsible for most vehicle accidents,” said Tara Andringa, executive director of the nonprofit Partners for Automated Vehicle Education.
“The data and statistics show that AV technology is safe and effective, especially when compared to people driving vehicles without automation or driver assistance features,” said Ms. Andringa. Said.
The security guards are not so sure.
Joe Young, director of media relations at the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), said the crash report raises more questions than answers.
“There is no clear evidence yet that partially automated driver assistance systems provide any safety benefits, so our priority in recent years has been to push applications that ensure the technology doesn’t make things less safe,” said Mr. Young. aforementioned.
This week’s report comes as safety concerns and a number of state regulations are slowing testing of fully self-driving vehicles that operate without a human driver.
Several states have allowed manufacturers to test fully automated technology vehicles under limited conditions.
In 2018, an Uber safety driver was charged with manslaughter after his self-driving car killed a 49-year-old woman crossing the street in Tempe, Arizona.
Wednesday’s NHTSA report found that 25 of these automated vehicle companies had 130 accidents. The leaders were Google’s Waymo with 62, Transdev Alternative Services with 34 and General Motors controlled Cruise with 23.
Walter Block, an economist at Loyola University in New Orleans, said the jury was still undecided on self-driving cars.
“Someday soon, Automated Vehicles will be better drivers than ordinary people. But that time has not yet come,” said Mr. Block.
[ad_2]
Source link