Consumer Reports says Tesla’s autopilot raises serious safety concerns

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Tesla Autopilot drivers seat

Christopher Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tesla‘s latest update to its autopilot function raises “serious safety concerns,” according to Consumer Reports magazine.

The test of Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot feature performed worse than human drivers and even created new risks for them, the magazine said.

“The feature cut off cars without leaving enough space and even passed other cars in ways that violate state laws,” the magazine wrote May 22. “As a result, the driver often had to prevent the system from making poor decisions.”

The damning words from a highly respected consumer review magazine could be a problem for the automaker as it looks to mitigate safety concerns about its autopilot driver assistance system, which was in use during three deadly car accidents in recent years.

The company’s newest update to its autopilot system introduced May 2 allows the vehicle to change lanes on its own. A driver must first turn on the feature to use it, but then it continues to automatically switch lanes until the function is disabled or autopilot is turned off.

Though the driver can stop the vehicle from changing lanes by braking or holding the steering wheel in place, CR found the feature was subpar compared to human drivers.

“This isn’t a convenience at all,” Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at CR, said in the report. “Monitoring the system is much harder than just changing lanes yourself. Using the system is like monitoring a kid behind the wheel for the very first time. As any parent knows, it’s far more convenient and less stressful to simply drive yourself.”

Fisher said the feature had an issue responding to other cars that were approaching quickly from behind, causing the vehicle to cut off cars driving much faster. Consumer Reports testers also found the feature struggled to merge into traffic, often automatically breaking to create space between the vehicle and the car in front of it, which can be a “rude surprise” to the vehicle behind it, Fisher said.

The company, which didn’t immediately respond to CNBC for comment, told Consumer Reports that “Navigate on Autopilot is based on map data, fleet data, and data from the vehicle’s sensors. However, it is the driver’s responsibility to remain in control of the car at all times, including safely executing lane changes.”

Navigate on Autopilot is an added function to Tesla’s autopilot system, which partially takes control of the vehicle and controls its speed while keeping it centered in its lane. There have been three deadly crashes in the U.S. while autopilot was engaged in Tesla vehicles, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

As worries about consumer safety rise due to these incidents, Tesla introduced two new features earlier this month that are designed to stop drivers from inadvertently switching lanes. The company presented its Lane Departure Avoidance feature, which flashes reminders to the driver to place their hands on the wheel when departing their lane without a turn signal. If a driver who is using Traffic Aware Cruise Control is repeatedly found to not have their hands on the wheel, the car will slow to 15 miles below the speed limit and flash its hazard lights.

The company also introduced Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance, which steers the vehicle back into its lane if the system detects you could be merging into a possible collision.

Read Consumer Report’s full report here.



Source : CNBC