Tesla announced today that it has updated its automatic driving assistance system Autopilot. When a Tesla vehicle detects the lights of an emergency response vehicle when driving at night, it can automatically slow down the vehicle. With the 2021.24.12 version of the software update, Tesla added this information to its Model 3 and Model Y owner’s manuals.
Tesla said: If Model 3/Model Y uses AutoSteer (Autopilot’s automatic steering function) on the highway at night, and the lights of the’emergency response vehicle’ are detected, the driving speed will be automatically reduced. At the same time, the touch screen will also display A message telling the driver to slow down.
In addition, the driver will hear an audible alert and see a reminder asking the driver to put their hands on the steering wheel. When the’emergency response vehicle’ passes by, or the warning light no longer lights up, Autopilot will resume cruising speed. Of course, the driver can also tap the throttle to restore cruising speed.
Tesla also specifically pointed out that this new feature is specifically suitable for night scenes. In addition, Tesla also added an important warning: Never rely on the Autopilot function to determine the presence of emergency response vehicles. Model 3/Model Y may not be able to detect the lights of the’emergency response vehicle’ under all circumstances. Therefore, Be sure to keep your eyes on the driving route and be ready to take immediate action at all times.
Obviously, this new feature and related warnings were added after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an investigation into Autopilot. Last month, NHTSA announced a formal investigation into Autopilot, saying that the system had difficulty identifying parked “emergency response vehicles.
NHTSA said at the time that since 2018, they have identified 11 related crashes. In these accidents, Tesla cars with Autopilot enabled collided with emergency response vehicles, including police cars and vehicles dedicated to dangerous goods.
At the end of August, a Tesla Model 3 electric car once again rammed a police car parked on the side of the road on an interstate highway near Orlando, Florida, and a police officer was nearly injured. So far, the number of accidents involving Tesla vehicles colliding with emergency response vehicles has reached 12. In these crashes, at least 17 people were injured and 1 person died.
In fact, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in July that Tesla Vision, the vision solution adopted by Tesla’s self-driving cars, will soon be able to detect the turn signals, hazard lights, and police cars of other vehicles. And ambulance lights, even hand gestures. This means that, when needed, Tesla’s autopilot system can respond to “emergency response vehicles”.
