WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – United States auto security regulators on Tuesday (Jan 25) mentioned they’ve sought further data from Tesla in its probe into 580,000 autos over the automaker’s determination to permit video games to be performed by passengers on the entrance middle touchscreen.
In December, the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary analysis into 2017-2022 Tesla Mannequin 3, S, X, and Y autos over the autos’ Passenger Play function the company mentioned “could distract the driving force and improve the chance of a crash”.
NHTSA needs information of any crash experiences tied to the function and for Tesla to furnish a chronology of occasions and research supporting its threat evaluation “in employment of entrance seat non-driving associated duties from in-vehicle based mostly gadgets even when the duty is meant just for entrance seat passenger”.
Tesla didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
NHTSA mentioned in December it has “confirmed that this functionality has been obtainable since December 2020 in Tesla Passenger Play-equipped autos”. Earlier than then, the sport function “was enabled solely when the car was in park”.
On Dec 23, Tesla instructed NHTSA it could cease permitting video video games to be performed on car screens whereas its vehicles are shifting, the company mentioned.
Tesla knowledgeable NHTSA a software program replace will lock the Passenger Play function and make it unusable when the car is in movement, NHTSA mentioned.
NHTSA requested Tesla to reply questions by March 4 together with offering “journey counts through which sport use occurred whereas the shift indicator was in drive” and embrace utilization the place car sensors didn’t detect an occupant within the entrance passenger seat.
It additionally needs information the place “gameplay was concurrent with any driver intervention measures or energetic security measures”.
The company in August opened a security investigation into 765,000 Tesla autos over its driver-assistance system Autopilot after a collection of crashes involving the system and parked emergency autos.
A preliminary analysis is a primary step earlier than NHTSA decides whether or not to improve a probe to an engineering evaluation, which should occur earlier than the company can demand a recall.
On Nov 29, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz recalled 227 US autos as a result of the car infotainment techniques “may enable activation of the tv and Web show whereas driving, inflicting a distraction for the driving force”.
In 2013, NHTSA issued tips to encourage automakers “to issue security and driver distraction-prevention into their designs and adoption of infotainment gadgets in autos”.