Tesla Allowing Drivers to Play Video Games in Moving Cars, Raises Safety Concerns in US

Final August, Vince Patton was watching a YouTube video of a Tesla proprietor who had made a startling statement: Tesla drivers might now play a online game on their automobile’s touch-screen dashboard — whereas the car is transferring.

Curious to see for himself, Patton drove his personal 2021 Tesla Mannequin 3 to an empty group school parking zone, activated a sport known as “Sky Drive Reloaded” from a menu and did just a few loops.

“I used to be simply dumbfounded that, sure, positive sufficient, this refined online game got here up,” mentioned Patton, a 59-year-old retired broadcast journalist who lives close to Portland, Oregon.

He tried Solitaire, too, and was capable of activate that sport whereas driving. Later, he discovered he might browse the web whereas his automobile was transferring.

Patton, who loves his automobile and says he has nothing in opposition to Tesla, worries that drivers will play video games and change into dangerously distracted.

“Someone’s going to get killed,” he mentioned. “It is completely insane.”

Which is why early final month, Patton determined to file a grievance with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration, the federal government’s street security company.

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“NHTSA wants to ban all dwell video within the entrance seat and all dwell interactive net shopping whereas the automobile is in movement,” Patton wrote in his grievance. “Making a harmful distraction for the driving force is recklessly negligent.”

On Wednesday, NHTSA confirmed that it is wanting into the matter. Information of Patton’s grievance was first reported Tuesday by The New York Occasions.

“We’re conscious of driver considerations and are discussing the characteristic with the producer,” a NHTSA spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. “The Automobile Security Act prohibits producers from promoting autos with design defects posing unreasonable dangers to security.”

The spokeswoman declined to offer additional particulars of its conversations with Tesla. The company has not opened a proper investigation, which might contain requests for paperwork and different detailed data. Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations division, didn’t reply to messages from The Related Press.

NHTSA’s inquiry marks the newest in a rising listing of attainable infractions involving superior auto know-how which can be being reviewed by two federal businesses as potential security dangers.

The federal government is wanting into Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving system, in addition to its “Full Self-Driving” software program system, which is being examined by chosen house owners on public roads. As well as, because it will increase scrutiny below President Joe Biden, NHTSA is investigating over-the-internet software program updates which can be meant to repair security issues and Tesla battery fires.

In its assertion, NHTSA mentioned that it continues to analysis driving distractions and that it is issued voluntary pointers for automakers to find out whether or not a specific process interferes with driver consideration.

“If a process doesn’t meet the acceptance standards,” the assertion mentioned, “the NHTSA pointers advocate that the duty be made inaccessible for efficiency by the driving force whereas driving.”

The company famous that crashes involving distracted drivers killed greater than 3,100 folks in 2019, representing about 9 % of all US visitors deaths. However security consultants contend that distracted driving crashes are undercounted.

It is unclear how lengthy Tesla has allowed video games to be performed whereas autos are transferring. However Patton mentioned a software program replace that he observed over the summer season could have begun to permit “Sky Drive Reloaded” for use by drivers. The sport, he famous, entails missiles and lasers that may be fired at objects.

Earlier than the video video games could be activated whereas the automobile is transferring, drivers are requested whether or not they’re passengers and should click on a button saying they’re. However Patton mentioned there seems to be no means for Tesla to substantiate that reality.

“When you’re alone within the automobile,” he mentioned, a driver might lie and nonetheless have the ability to play whereas driving.

“That is not a lot of a security barrier,” he mentioned.

Even when solely a passenger is taking part in the sport, Patton mentioned, it might nonetheless be distracting to the driving force as a result of the sport takes up about two-thirds of the contact display. This additionally makes it tougher for the driving force to see warnings and controls for windshield defrosters, he mentioned.

Beforehand, Patton mentioned, video games could possibly be performed solely whereas the autos had been in park. Many drivers use them whereas ready for batteries to be recharged at Tesla’s Supercharger stations, he mentioned.

The automobile, nevertheless, prevented him from watching films on Netflix and YouTube whereas it was transferring, he mentioned.

Jason Levine, government director of the nonprofit Heart for Auto Security, mentioned in an e-mail that NHTSA has the authority to declare the autos faulty and to hunt a recall.

“There’s little query that having a big display subsequent to the driving force on which the driving force, or a passenger, can play a online game whereas the car is transferring is an unreasonable threat to security,” Levine wrote. “NHTSA’s current statements would recommend this characteristic has been in violation of each the spirit and letter of NHTSA’s driver distraction pointers and the legislation.”

Tesla’s Autopilot system has been misused by drivers prior to now, who’ve thwarted its system for detecting arms on the wheel. In a single case, a driver in California was arrested whereas driving within the again seat because the automobile rolled down a freeway.

After investigating two deadly crashes involving Autopilot, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board really helpful that Tesla set up a digicam system to make sure that drivers had been paying consideration. The company mentioned in October that Tesla hasn’t formally responded.

Tesla has mentioned that, regardless of their names, Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” are solely driver help methods and can’t drive themselves. It says drivers ought to at all times concentrate and be able to take motion.