Issues
AV START threatens public safety and driverless car potential
In the final days of this session, the U.S. Senate may vote on legislation that would essentially turn our public streets into proving grounds for driverless cars that are not ready for prime time. The AV START Act (S. 1885) would allow for widespread sale of these nascent systems under the guise of safety, but wouldn’t require…
Safety Would Take a Back Seat if Senate Passes Bill on Driverless Cars, Critics Say
“The industry would be “in complete control when it comes to consumer safety in autonomous vehicles,” complained Michael Brooks, chief counsel for the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, in a recent conference call with reporters. “As history has proven time and time over, automakers are incapable of prioritizing safety over profits,” Brooks said, “and the…
GM, Lyft, Waymo want to be allowed to remove driver controls on autonomous cars
The Center for Auto Safety, a Washington-based consumer advocacy organization, said it remains “skeptical” about companies testing vehicles without manual controls, citing “there is no demonstrable evidence” that the vehicles “can safely operate on (and off) America’s roads.” General Motors and Alphabet’s Waymo are among the companies encouraging federal safety regulators to swiftly, yet safely, update laws to better accommodate…
Safety groups want FTC, state probes of Tesla’s Autopilot system–and its marketing efforts
“We feel Tesla violates the laws on deceptive practices, both at the federal and state level,” said Jason Levine, the head of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Auto Safety, one of two groups that have called for an investigation of both the Autopilot system and Tesla’s promotion of the technology. Two consumer safety groups are…
Consumer groups, 'Sully' Sullenberger raise concerns about Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features
Two consumer advocacy groups on Thursday refiled a request with the Federal Trade Commission for it to investigate Tesla’s representation of its Autopilot driver aid system, calling it “misleading” and “deceptive.” The Center for Auto Safety and Consumer Watchdog submitted a letter to the FTC last year on the same topic, but a spokesperson for…
Consumer groups call for FTC investigation into Tesla's Autopilot
“What is particularly sad here is that instead of believing in the advanced cruise control technology the company has developed Tesla continues to make unsupportable claims that seem intended to deceive and certainly put people’s lives in danger,” Jason Levine, director of the Center for Auto Safety, wrote in an email to Automotive News. The…
Ford secretly tells dealers: Fix faulty Focus, Fiesta transmissions until July 19
Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, responded to quiet release of the repair directive by saying, “By failing to widely publicize that there are repairs available free of charge to many owners of their faulty vehicles, Ford is repeating a longstanding auto industry practice of providing repairs to consumers only when…
Mass. 'Literally Wasn't Opening The Mail': How The RMV Process Is Supposed To Work
What is particularly shocking, in this instance, is that Massachusetts literally wasn’t opening the mail, and is the only state in the union that has not agreed to join in either the driver’s license compact, or have a regular system for sharing this information with those other few states that have chosen not to participate…
NHTSA pressed to force automakers to keep safety records even longer
“For decades, we’ve been arguing that the previous requirement was obviously totally unacceptable in terms of when they are made to when they have issues,” Jason Levine, the center’s executive director, told Automotive News on Tuesday. “Even their active investigations, almost half of those would not be required, even under the new rule, to have…
First Shift: NHTSA urged to force automakers to keep safety data for 20 years
Click here to view the video from Automotive News: First Shift