By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – A Democratic lawmaker called on a U.S. auto safety agency on Thursday to take action to address misuse of Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, citing dozens of videos that appear to show drivers asleep or disengaged from driving.
In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois cited an NBC News report that identified 43 videos appearing to show individuals asleep in the driver’s seat of moving Teslas, including 17 this year.
Krishnamoorthi said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “must ensure that manufacturers have adequate safeguards to prevent foreseeable misuse and that drivers are not encouraged to place dangerous levels of reliance on systems
that still require their full attention.”
Many Tesla drivers say the systems allow them to take their hands off the wheel for extended periods and some have posted videos suggesting they can perform other tasks while behind the wheel.
Tesla, the DOT and NHTSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Is NHTSA aware of the growing body of publicly available videos showing Tesla drivers apparently asleep or otherwise disengaged from the driving task while Autopilot or FSD is operating?” Krishnamoorthi asked.
He said he wants to know if NHTSA has evaluated Tesla safeguards when the cabin camera is obstructed, visibility impaired, or drivers use sunglasses or hats to interfere with detection.
In 2023, Tesla recalled about 2 million vehicles, nearly all of its electric vehicles on U.S. roads, to better ensure that drivers pay attention when using Autopilot.
Tesla has said Autopilot enables vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes, while Full Self-Driving vehicles can obey traffic signals and change lanes. The automaker has also said both technologies require “fully attentive” drivers whose hands are on the wheel.
In March, the NHTSA escalated its probe into 3.2 million Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving, concerned the system may fail to detect issues or warn drivers in poor visibility.
In October, NHTSA opened a separate probe into 2.9 million Tesla vehicles equipped with its FSD system over more than 50 reports of traffic-safety violations and a series of crashes. The auto safety agency said FSD — an assistance system that requires drivers to pay attention and intervene if needed — has “induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)
