In August last year, Vince Patton watched a video of a Tesla owner on YouTube. He made an amazing observation: Tesla drivers can now use the car’s touch screen dashboard while the car is driving. Play video games on the Internet.
Out of curiosity, Button drove his 2021 Tesla Model 3 to an empty community college parking lot, activated a game called “Power of the Sky Reloaded” from the menu, and did a few cycles.
Barton, a 59-year-old retired radio journalist living near Portland, Oregon, said: “I was stunned. Yes, sure enough, this complicated video game appeared.” He also tried the card game and was able to activate it. The game I played while driving. Later, he found out that he could surf the Internet while driving.
Button likes his car and said that he is not against Tesla. He is worried that the driver will play games and be distracted.
“Someone will be killed,” he said. “This is absolutely crazy.” That’s why Barton decided to file a complaint with the government’s road safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, early last month.
“NHTSA needs to ban all real-time video and all real-time interactive web browsing in the front seat of a car while driving,” Barton wrote in his complaint. “It is a reckless negligence to distract the driver.”
On Wednesday, NHTSA confirmed that it is investigating the matter. The New York Times first reported the news of Patton’s complaint on Tuesday.
An NHTSA spokesperson wrote in an email: “We understand the driver’s concerns and are discussing this feature with the manufacturer.” “The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles whose design flaws pose an unreasonable risk to safety.”
The spokesperson declined to provide more details of the conversation with Tesla. The agency has not yet launched a formal investigation, which will involve requests for documents and other detailed information. Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department, did not respond to the news from the Associated Press.
The NHTSA investigation marks the latest in a growing list of possible violations involving advanced automotive technology, which are being reviewed by two federal agencies as potential safety risks.
The government is studying Tesla’s Autopilot partial autonomous driving system, as well as its “fully autonomous driving” software system, which is being tested on public roads by selected car owners. In addition, as President Joe Biden’s scrutiny becomes more stringent, NHTSA is investigating network software updates designed to address safety issues and Tesla battery fires.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that it will continue to study driving distractions and has issued voluntary guidelines for automakers to determine whether specific tasks will interfere with drivers’ attention.
Complete News Source : Gadgets360
