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Tesla says its cars automatically stop for traffic lights
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit watchdog group, said Tesla is using the feature to sell cars and get media attention, even though it might not work. “Unfortunately, we’ll find out the hard way,” he said.
Whenever one of its vehicles using Autopilot is involved in a crash, Tesla points to “legalese” warning drivers that they have to pay attention, Levine said. But he said Tesla drivers have a history over-relying on the company’s electronics.
“Tesla’s sensors have routinely demonstrated an inability to be accurate at a level that is comforting when imagining people being reliant upon it when approaching a stoplight at full speed,” Levine said.
By The Associated Press
April 27, 2020
DETROIT — After testing on public roads, Tesla is rolling out a new feature of its partially automated driving system designed to spot stop signs and traffic signals.
The update of the electric car company’s cruise control and auto-steer systems is a step toward CEO Elon Musk’s pledge to convert cars to fully self-driving vehicles later this year.
But it also runs contrary to recommendations from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board that include limiting where Tesla’s Autopilot driving system can operate because it has failed to spot and react to hazards in at least three fatal crashes.
In a note sent to a group of Tesla owners who were picked to test the stop light and sign recognition feature, the company said it can be used with the Traffic Aware Cruise Control or Autosteer systems. The feature will slow the car whenever it detects a traffic light, including those that are green or blinking yellow. It will notify the driver of its intent to slow down and stop, and drivers must push down the gear selector and press the accelerator pedal to confirm that it’s safe to proceed.
The company warns in the note obtained by The Associated Press that drivers must pay attention and be ready to take immediate action “including braking because this feature may not stop for all traffic controls.”
The note says that over time, as the system learns from the fleet on the roads, it “will control more naturally.”
Tesla didn’t respond to multiple requests for additional details, but the website Electrek.co reported last week that the new feature is being sent to the wider Tesla fleet as part of an over-the-Internet software update for thousands of vehicles. The feature won’t come until later in other parts of the world, the website said.