|
Of
12 systems tested by Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization
that evaluates products and services, Ford Motor's BlueCruise
was first, followed by General Motors' Cadillac Super Cruise and
Mercedes-Benz Driver Assistance.
Tesla, which was second in Consumer Reports ratings in 2020
behind Super Cruise, fell to seventh, the group said. The
electric vehicle maker did not respond to a request for comment.
Tesla hasn’t changed Autopilot’s basic functionality, instead
adding more features to it, the group said.
"After all this time, Autopilot still doesn’t allow
collaborative steering and doesn’t have an effective driver
monitoring system," said Consumer Reports Auto Testing director
Jake Fisher in a statement.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is
investigating 830,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot after a
series of crashes with parked emergency vehicles.
NHTSA is reviewing whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure
drivers are paying attention. In June, the agency said evidence
suggested drivers in most crashes with emergency vehicles under
review had complied with Tesla's alert strategy that seeks to
compel driver attention, raising questions about its
effectiveness.
NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said earlier this month
the agency was "working really fast" on its Autopilot probe.
"We're moving as quickly as we can, but we also want to be
careful and make sure we have all the information we need," she
said.
In 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board criticized
Tesla's "ineffective monitoring of driver engagement" after a
2018 fatal Autopilot crash.
Autopilot enables cars to steer, accelerate and brake within
their lanes without driver intervention but Tesla says the
feature requires "active driver supervision and do not make the
vehicle autonomous."
NHTSA has separately opened more than three dozen Tesla special
crash investigations where advanced systems including Autopilot
were suspected of being used with 19 crash deaths reported.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
