When it comes to self-driving cars, the concern about the technology’s ability to recognise a pedestrian in its path has always been there. Even when the technology manufacturers tout the safety features the concern never fully goes away. A safe technology advocacy group has now voiced concerns regarding Tesla’s full self-driving software. The advocacy group Dawn Project claims that Teslas “will indiscriminately mow down children”. It has urged the public to pressure Congress to ban Tesla’s auto-driving technology. The beta version of Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD) software apparently struck stationary child-sizedmannequins that were placed in its path during a test, according to The Guardian.
An ad campaign by the group claims that over 100,000 Tesla drivers are already using full self-driving on public roads. Calling it “the worst commercial software” he has ever seen, the Dawn Project’s President and CEO Dan O’Dowd urged people to “tell congress to shut it down”.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had previously called the software “amazing” on Twitter, the ad campaign highlights this satirically and shows footage in which Tesla cars can be seen repeatedly hitting child-sized mannequins.
The ad claims that the test was conducted by a professional driver on a closed course and that the car was fully controlled by the software for “over 100 yards with no driver interference leading upto and through the mannequins”.
This is only the latest in a series of claims and investigations into the technology by the world’s leading electric car maker.
In June the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it was expanding an August 2021 investigation into 830,000 Tesla cars across all four model lines.
The investigation and its expansion were “motivated by an accumulation of crashes in which Tesla vehicles, operating with Autopilot engaged, struck stationary in-road or roadside first responder vehicles
tending to pre-existing collision scenes”.
Another NHTSA investigation is underway to investigate “phantom braking”. As per Guardian since 2016 the agency has investigated 30 crashes involving a Tesla, 19 of which were fatal.
The Guardian report also mentions that between July 2021 and May 2022, of some 400 crashes involving driver assist systems, most involved Teslas than other manufacturers combined.
Musk, on the other hand, claimed at a company shareholders meeting earlier this month that the Full Self-Driving has improved greatly and that he expected to make the software available by end of the year.
Source:https://www.wionews.com/world/are-children-at-risk-from-elon-musks-self-driving-technology-group-claims-software-will-mow-kids-down-505353