The National Transportation Safety Board said the driver of a Tesla SUV who died in a Silicon Valley crash two years ago was playing a video game on his smartphone at the time. AP reports.
“If you own a car with partial automation, you do not own a self-driving car. This means that when driving in the supposed ‘self-driving’ mode, you can’t read a book, you can’t watch a movie or TV show, you can’t text and you can’t play video games.” – Chairman Robert Sumwalt.
In March 2018, a Apple Engineer “Walter Huang” was killed in a Model X SUV fatal crash, when his car slammed into a concrete barrier that divided the road.
Until now, NTSB investigators have previously found that Tesla’s system had become confused at the exit of the freeway and was a factor in the crash. Documents released earlier this month quoted Huang’s relatives as suggesting that Huang had already worried about Autopilot malfunctioning and swerving in the area near where the accident occurred.
NHTSA told the NTSB that it has opened investigations into 14 Tesla crashes and that it would use its security defect enforcement to take action if necessary.
NHTSA stated that it would review the NTSB report and that all commercially available vehicles require human drivers to remain in control at all times. “Distraction-affected crashes are a major concern, including those involving advanced driver assistance,” the statement said.
According to Tesla, Autopilot is safer than human drivers. Tesla has claimed its internal data shows that drivers using Autopilot crash less frequently while using the technology than while driving manually.
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