Tag Archives: Safety

Ford Recalls Nearly 185K F-150s

December 23, 2021 admin

Ford announced it’s recalling almost 185,000 F-150 full-size pickups. The 2021 and 2022 model-year trucks are experiencing driveshaft problems that could cause it to fracture.

All-new F-150 — Ford is recalling nearly 185,000 F-150 pickups from the 2021 and 2022 model years.

The issue only affects certain F-150 Crew Cab 4×4 pickups, according to the filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company’s began examining the issue since July.

The truck’s underbody thermal/acoustic insulators can loosen over time. If they come in contact with the truck’s aluminum driveshaft, they can cause scoring or marks. If this goes on long enough, the heat generated each time can eventually crack the driveshaft.

Potential results if the issue is not repaired

“A fractured driveshaft may result in loss of motive power,” the report states, “unintended vehicle movement while the vehicle is in park if the parking brake is not applied, and may result in secondary damage to surrounding components.”

Additionally, once fractured, the driveshaft could break loose and touch the ground, causing the driver to lose control of the pickup, potentially resulting in a crash. The company is unaware of any accidents or injuries caused by the problem.

2021 Ford F-150 - at work site — Some Ford F-150 pickups are facing issues with the aluminum driveshaft on the truck.

Owners are advised to look for a “loose underbody insulator.” They should also listen for a rattling, clicking or clunking noise due to the loose insulator coming in contact with the driveshaft. The scoring or marking on the driveshaft described earlier may also be visible.

Next steps

Ford’s taken steps to resolve the problem during production by swapping the underbody thermal acoustic insulator for an under-carpet thermal patch at the two plants — Dearborn (MI) Truck and Kansas City (KS) Assembly — already.

Dealers received the notice Tuesday, and owners will begin receiving notices in the mail shortly. They will be instructed to make an appointment with their dealer to have “positive attachment features adde to the underbody insulators.”

They’ll also inspect the driveshaft for scoring or marks that may have already occurred. This will be done at no expense to the truck owner.

As of Dec. 7, Ford received 27 reports of fractured aluminum driveshafts possibly related to sagging underbody insulators on the F-150s, the automaker said in an Automotive News report.

NHTSA Opens Investigation into Tesla Gaming Software

December 22, 2021 admin

Patton plays games driving Model 3 — Journalist Vince Patton demonstrates its possible to play video games while driving his Tesla Model 3.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) it is investigating 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 that allow those seated up front to play games on the infotainment touchscreen while the vehicle is in motion.

The investigation stems from a complaint filed with agency earlier this month by Vince Patton, a retired journalist from Portland, Oregon.

The formal safety investigation, which was announced Wednesday, covers 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3, S, X, and Y vehicles. NHTSA opened the investigation “based on reports that Tesla gameplay functionality, which is visible on the front center touchscreen from the driver’s seat, is enabled even when the vehicle is being driven.”

Tesla made the software more dangerous

The 2021 Tesla Model S gets an all-new interior, a yoke-style steering wheel and the updated software being investigated by NHTSA.

The feature, known as “Passenger Play,” increases the risk of a crash. Since December 2020, the feature can be used while driving. Prior to that, it could only be used when the vehicle was in Park. The agency said that it is evaluating aspects of the feature, including how frequently it’s used and when.

NHTSA is concerned about distracted driving, an increasing risk as automakers bring increased online connectivity to infotainment touchscreens. Distracted driving caused 3,142 deaths in 2019, all of them preventable.

While Passenger Play does have a warning stating the game is meant solely for passengers. Although it asks for confirmation that the player is a passenger and not the driver, there is nothing preventing the driver from playing while driving.

Other Tesla safety issues

Consumer Reports criticized the performance of Tesla’s latest version of Autopilot.

It’s not NHTSA’s only Tesla safety investigation, nor Tesla’s only safety issue.

In August, the agency opened a formal safety investigation of 765,000 Teslas equipped with its Autopilot driver-assistance system after 11 crashes involving parked emergency vehicles killed one person and injured 17. The inquiry covers 2014-2021 Models S, X, Y and 3.

In October, Tesla had to roll back full self-driving, or FSD, with Musk revealing that the company is “seeing some issues with 10.3, so rolling back to 10.2 temporarily.”

And in November, Tesla issued a recall for 11,704 vehicles sold in the U.S. since 2017. The recall covers Model S, X, 3 and Y vehicles and came about as a result of an over-the-air firmware update of the automaker’s “Full Self-Driving Beta,” its advanced driver assistance system.

The company identified a software communication error that could cause the forward-collision warning or automatic emergency brake system to falsely activate, possibly leading to a rear-end collision.

Other OEM infotainment issues

2022 Mercedes EQS 580 4Matic black daytime — The new Mercedes-Benz EQS was recalled after it was found that its MBUX system allowed television and internet to be displayed while driving

Other automakers are far more concerned over distracted driving than Tesla. On November 29, Mercedes-Benz recalled 227 vehicles in the U.S. after the company discovered that its MBUX infotainment system allowed television and internet to be displayed while driving.

The recall affected 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580, 2022 EQS450, EQS580, and S500 models. Mercedes-Benz has already corrected the problem, and no deaths or injuries seem to have resulted from the problem.

Musk pays billions to satisfy tax bill

In other Tesla news, Reuters is reporting that Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold 10% of his own company stock, 13.5 million shares, 8.06 million of which were sold to pay taxes. The billionaire said he is paying more than $11 billion in taxes this year.

“California used to be the land of opportunity and now it is … becoming more so the land of sort of overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation,” Musk told Reuters, adding his combined federal and state tax rate tops 50 percent.

The tax bill may explain why Musk recently relocated Tesla’s headquarters to Austin, Texas from Palo Alto, California.

But taxes aren’t Musk’s only concern.

The company has submitted all the documentation required to get its factory approved near Berlin, Germany. Approval of Tesla’s newest manufacturing facility has been delayed by environmental concerns and red tape due to Tesla’s decision to add a battery factory to the site. That has delayed the approval process. It remains unclear when the new plant is expected to open.

NHTSA Investigating Ram’s Diesel Pickups

October 18, 2021 admin

<img data-attachment-id="1776420" data-permalink="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/10/nhtsa-investigating-rams-diesel-pickups/2019-ram-2500-hd/" data-orig-file="http://lntransportation.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/nhtsa-investigating-rams-diesel-pickups-5.png" data-orig-size="1420,937" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="2019 Ram 2500 HD" data-image-description="

Ram

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into nearly 605,000 heavy-duty Ram trucks. A report from the regulator’s Office of Defects Investigation has tabulated 22 complaints from the 2019 and 2020 model years, all of which use 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel engines, spurring the NHTSA to launch a formal investigation. Complaints revolve around loss of motive power, with most incidents occurring above 25 mph and resulting in the “permanent disablement of the vehicle.”

While the public was not made aware of the investigation until Monday, the agency launched its probe last Thursday on October 14th. The goal will be to establish how widespread the presumed defect is, what exactly caused it, and any potential safety hazards relating to the issue. Some headway has already been made, however.

Back in 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis) issued Warranty Bulletin D-19-02 to dealers. The memo requested stores participate in a campaign to “collect, monitor and correct quality issues” on certain MY 2018-2020 Ram trucks equipped with the 6.7-liter Cummins. The NHTSA’s action summary states that this resulted in FCA and an unnamed supplier collecting and inspecting high-pressure fuel pumps.

Vehicles under suspicion include all Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 HD pickups from the 2019-2020 MY. The NHTSA plans on looking into the trucks to determine whether or not it needs to press Stellantis to launch a recall. That means asking the manufacturer to give its take on the situation while it compiles warranty claims, injury reports, and whatever FCA previously had on those suspect fuel pumps.

Regulators have been incredibly hard on diesel vehicles ever since Volkswagen’s emissions scandal upended the industry in 2015. While a part of me wants to believe the NHTSA just has it out for Ram’s HD lineup (since a few have asked), it seems far more plausible that this was a standard, shrug-your-shoulders defect. Selective environmental regulations have made diesels cost more as they’ve gradually amassed a bevy of pollutant controlling hardware while also complicating powertrains to a point that has lessened their overall effectiveness. But the impact this has had on their reliability is less obvious and may have nothing to do with a bunch of subpar fuel pumps.

Let’s face it, U.S. regulators haven’t been shy about hitting manufacturers with emissions-focused recalls backed by the Environmental Protection Agency and/or California Air Resources Board in the past. If they wanted to chide Cummins or FCA/Stellantis over pollution, they could have done so overtly.

Stellantis has said it plans on cooperating with the NHTSA fully, launching an investigation of its own for good measure. So we should have some answers soon, including the name of the supplier. In the meantime, you might want to keep a closer eye on how your HD Ram is running if it falls under the purview of the investigation.

[Image: Stellantis]

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Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Drive Just as Badly as Humans in the Rain

October 15, 2021 admin

If you’re driving in a downpour, the technology you rely on to make you a better driver day in, and day out is likely useless.

Connected Vehicles 2 — In ideal conditions, ADAS is very helpful, but a new study shows in moderate to heavy rain, suffered performance issues.

At least according to a new study from AAA, which tested a variety of safety technologies typically lumped together under the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems moniker and found they performed no better than humans in moderate to heavy rain.

The performance issues stem from the assistance systems inability to “see” better than a live person during those weather events — they don’t it turns out. The reason for this is pretty simple and is the same one that’s plagued these technologies from the beginning.

“Vehicle safety systems rely on sensors and cameras to see road markings, other cars, pedestrians and roadway obstacles. So naturally, they are more vulnerable to environmental factors like rain,” said Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations.

“The reality is people aren’t always driving around in perfect, sunny weather so we must expand testing and take into consideration things people actually contend with in their day-to-day driving.”

The Lexus LSS+ suite of advanced driver assistance systems becomes standard for 2020.

No better than people

During closed course testing with simulated rainfall AAA researchers found test vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking traveling at 35 mph collided with a stopped vehicle one third (33%) of the time.

Lane keeping assistance didn’t fare any better with test vehicles departing their lane 69% of the time. Vehicle safety systems, also known as advanced driver assistance systems or ADAS, are typically evaluated in ideal operating conditions. However, in order to get real world results, AAA attempts to simulate real world conditions.

Additionally, the study found automatic emergency braking engaged while approaching a stopped vehicle in the lane ahead:

In aggregate, testing conducted at 25 mph resulted in a collision for 17% of test runs
In aggregate, testing conducted at 35 mph resulted in a collision for 33% of test runs

Emergency Auto Braking — Driver assistance features like emergency auto-braking struggled in certain situations.

Meanwhile, lane–keeping assistance engaged to maintain the vehicle’s lane position “veered outside of the lane markers 69% of the time,” the results showed.

Other shortcomings and what to do

The safety technology fell short of ideal in other ways too, for example, it struggled to stay in its lane — despite markings — on curved roads as well as streets with busy intersections.

It also struggled to stop for pedestrians involved in everyday activities, such as walking in front of a vehicle, a child running out from between two parked vehicles or when people were walking at night.

Occasionally, it struggled with dealing with a disabled vehicle on the road or “coming too close to other vehicles or guardrails.”

AAA’s research continues to show that vehicle safety system performance varies widely, reinforcing that they are not a replacement for a fully engaged driver.

“AAA recognizes these systems have the ability to lessen the chance of a crash and improve the overall safety of driving,” continued Brannon. “Fine-tuning their performance and providing drivers with a more consistent experience will go a long way in unlocking their true potential.”

Twist: NHTSA Tesla Autopilot Probe Now Includes Other Automakers

September 14, 2021 admin

<img data-attachment-id="1770456" data-permalink="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/08/study-suggests-evs-cost-more-to-service/electriccarschargingstationcloseupphoto-vehiclerechargeablebatteriescharing/" data-orig-file="http://lntransportation.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/twist-nhtsa-tesla-autopilot-probe-now-includes-other-automakers-5.jpg" data-orig-size="1000,667" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Shutterstock","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"Copyright (c) 2016 Virrage Images\/Shutterstock. No use without permission.","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Electric,Cars,Charging,Station,Closeup,Photo.,Vehicle,Rechargeable,Batteries,Charing.","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="EV charging tesla superchargers tesla charging station EVs" data-image-description="

Virrage Images/Shutterstock

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been doing a deep dive into Tesla’s Autopilot to determine if 765,000 vehicles from the 2014 model year onward are fit to be on the road. We’ve covered it on numerous occasions, with your author often making a plea for regulators not to harp on one company when the entire industry has been slinging advanced driving aids and distracting infotainment displays for years.

Apparently someone at the NHTSA either heard the blathering, or was at least of a similar mind, because the organization has expanded its investigation to include roughly a dozen other automakers.

On Monday, letters were issued to major manufacturers — reportedly including BMW, Honda, Toyota, and Ford Motor Co. — requesting a “comparative analysis amongst production vehicles equipped with the ability to control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances.”

Bloomberg was the first to learn of the regulatory notices and stated that they included comprehensive documentation on how driver-assistance features work for each company, as well as how they know when and if a system was engaged in the event of an accident. Since the Tesla probe originally started by investigating vehicle crashes in the presence of rescue and law-enforcement vehicles, the NHTSA also wants to know how various systems handle their presence. Automakers were asked by regulators to respond no later than November 17th, 2021.

This is probably something the Department of Transportation should have been looking into years earlier, rather than allowing the industry to implement features that debatably went onto the market unproven. Now we’re in a situation where driving aids have become the norm and regulators are just starting to get serious about looking into some of the resulting complications. But it’s difficult to say what’s right when regulations often have unintended consequences and rarely seem to take the larger picture into account.

It’s not difficult to imagine a scenario where the NHTSA wants all manufacturers to network all vehicles with emergency responders to prevent future incidents where an automobile goes haywire near some flashing lights and road flares. While that would almost assuredly result in a technical violation of the Fourth Amendment, counties lacking such protections have already implemented traffic enforcement centers (e.g. China) that track networked vehicles in real time and individual automakers have data hubs on U.S. soil doing roughly the same thing.

But that’s just one possible scenario.

Regulators could just as easily attempt to establish a set of rules relating to how, when, and where these systems can be operated. A certification and testing protocol could also be implemented to ensure their effectiveness or automakers might be forbade from implementing certain functions entirely. Nobody but bureaucrats hold any love for red tape, and it’s bound to result costly recall campaigns. However doing nothing might leave millions of vehicles on the road with potentially hazardous safety and convenience packages and I haven’t the faintest idea whether that’s going to be the best or absolute worst solution to this problem. There are several issues here begging to be addressed (safety, privacy, a lack of standardization, increased costs, manufacturing complexities, etc.) but so many regulatory actions turn out to be counter productive that it makes one hesitant to endorse anything.

As pickles go, this one is taking up the whole damn jar — thanks partially to regulators dragging their feet and out-of-touch legislators having next to no idea how any of these systems worked. Rather than examining things seriously six or seven years ago and attempting to establish a competent regulatory framework that could be updated as new technologies cropped up, the government now has to play catchup and plot a course of action while it’s still learning how these systems function.

[Image: Virrage Images/Shutterstock]

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NHTSA Resumes Inquisition of Tesla Autopilot

August 16, 2021 admin

<img data-attachment-id="1770456" data-permalink="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/08/study-suggests-evs-cost-more-to-service/electriccarschargingstationcloseupphoto-vehiclerechargeablebatteriescharing/" data-orig-file="http://lntransportation.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/nhtsa-resumes-inquisition-of-tesla-autopilot-5.jpg" data-orig-size="1000,667" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Shutterstock","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"Copyright (c) 2016 Virrage Images\/Shutterstock. No use without permission.","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Electric,Cars,Charging,Station,Closeup,Photo.,Vehicle,Rechargeable,Batteries,Charing.","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="EV charging tesla superchargers tesla charging station EVs" data-image-description="

Virrage Images/Shutterstock

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been keeping tabs on Tesla’s Autopilot for years, sometimes giving crashes involving the system a bit more attention than they otherwise would have. But the extra scrutiny seemed to dissipate as practically every automaker on the planet introduced their own advanced driving suites and Telsa seemed to preemptively adhere to fast-approaching government regulations (and industry norm) by introducing driver-monitoring cameras.

On Friday, the NHTSA returned to business as usual and announced it had opened a preliminary evaluation of Autopilot to determine if there were any problems with the system. The agency has claimed it received at least 11 verifiable crash reports since 2018 where a Tesla product struck at least one vehicle that was already at the scene of an accident. It’s sort of a weird metric but allegedly worthy of the NHTSA wanting to look into every model the company produced between 2014 and 2021. However, actually reading the report makes it sound like the agency is more preoccupied with how Tesla’s system engaged with drivers, rather than establishing the true effectiveness of Autopilot as a system.

From the report:

Most incidents took place after dark and the crash scenes encountered included scene control measures such as first responder vehicle lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, and road cones. The involved subject vehicles were all confirmed to have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes.

Autopilot is an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) in which the vehicle maintains its speed and lane centering when engaged within its Operational Design Domain (ODD). With the ADAS active, the driver still holds primary responsibility for Object and Event Detection and Response (OEDR), e.g., identification of obstacles in the roadway or adverse maneuvers by neighboring vehicles during the Dynamic Driving Task (DDT).

As a result, the Office of Defects Investigation says it has started investigating Autopilot (SAE Level 2) equipped to all Tesla models (S, X, 3, and Y) manufactured between 2014 and 2021. The goal will be to assess the associated “technologies and methods used to monitor, assist, and enforce the driver’s engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation.”

While it also plans to look into the general effectiveness of Autopilot but it’s written into the report almost as an afterthought, making the whole thing a bit curious. The government granted manufacturers quite a bit of leeway in terms of where and how they tested autonomous vehicles for years, with the NHTSA doing little to buck the trend. Retroactively looking into Tesla vehicles for not being sufficiently obnoxious to convince operators not to use Autopilot seems genuinely stupid. Most forms of ADAS encourage drivers to check out of the driving experience, encouraging complacency behind the wheel.

That’s not really a defense on behalf of Tesla either. Your author routinely bashed the company for rolling out Autopilot irresponsibly and there are more than enough examples of drivers doing something truly stupid to help that case. But the government already allowed it to sell those vehicles and hasn’t done nearly as much to chide other manufacturers who are offering similar systems that also yield questionable efficacy. Tesla simply got there first, had better (albeit questionable) marketing, offered more features, and took all the early praise.

The NHTSA frequently goes out of its way to remind people that no commercially available vehicles are capable of driving themselves while simultaneously giving the go-ahead to automakers who stop just short of making the absolute counterclaim. Seeing the agency suddenly launch a preliminary investigation that could ultimately lead to a recall campaign of 765,000 vehicles makes it seem like it has a vendetta against Tesla or a desperate need to look competent. Why not have a full assessment of literally every vehicle sold with features that qualify as SAE Level 2 rather than single out the highest-profile manufacturer selling the least amount of cars?

Probably because that would require a lot more work and gum up the works for legacy automakers that have better relationships with government entities. Let’s not forget that Tesla was the only domestic automaker deemed ineligible for the latest EV subsidies on account of its opposition to unionization and has a history of butting heads with regulators and the State of California. But it would be irresponsible for me to claim that’s the agency’s de facto reasoning, rather than a strong hunch.

The NHTSA has at least started requiring automakers to report crashes where advanced driving systems were engaged during or immediately before the crash. That should eventually help build a foundation of data to help make more informed decisions moving ahead. But the recent focus on driver monitoring remains unsettling, particularly as we’ve seen bizarre inclusions in unrelated bills attempting to mandate enhanced government surveillance of vehicle occupants. If the NHTSA was serious about any of this, it would take a look at how oversized central displays are encouraging distracted driving and put some additional effort behind its generalized ADAS assessments.

Tesla has plenty of problems and frequently makes decisions that run counter to good taste. Autopilot may even have serious issues that need to be addressed. But if other manufacturers aren’t subjected to the same level of scrutiny, then the NHTSA hasn’t done its job. There are millions of less-expensive vehicles equipped with similar systems, some I’ve personally seen fail in ways that could have easily resulted in an accident. Frankly, I would argue most ADAS fail to work as advertised and encourage complacency to a potentially dangerous degree. However, they don’t make the headlines or end up on the receiving end of enhanced regulatory pressure.

Either these systems work well and should be retained or they don’t and must be removed — the badge on the front of the car should be irrelevant. Nobody has done a great job with autonomy and the solutions being presented by regulators are truly unsavory, we should all be tired of pretending otherwise.

[Image: Virrage Images/Shutterstock]

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Senate Infrastructure Bill Seeks to Make Breathalyzers, Interior Cameras Mandatory

August 5, 2021 admin

<img data-attachment-id="1571136" data-permalink="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/05/nafta-in-90-days/us-capitol/" data-orig-file="https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/us-capitol–e1495132939737.jpg" data-orig-size="2000,1333" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="us-capitol" data-image-description="

Architect of the Capitol/AOC.gov
Public Domain

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The U.S. Senate is currently considering a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s primarily targeting the ailing highway system, with tens of billions left over to spend on advancing the nation’s EV charging infrastructure and incorporating more eco-friendly modes of public transportation. But there’s also some really kooky shit that you need to be made aware of before this passes into law.

Along with new regulations that would mandate the inclusion of collision detection systems and automatic emergency braking, where the car calls your bluff and applies the wheel-stoppers independently of your actions, provisions have been made that would also require some kind of in-car breathalyzer. The stated aim is to reduce incidents of drunk driving. However, the proposed system may also include driver-monitoring cameras, totally undermining any nobility the cause might otherwise have had.

Complaining about regulatory overreach is kind of my beat and the last few years have kept me truly busy. But this is on a whole other level as the nanny state runs amok — and we’re just getting started.

While incidents of drunk driving have come down over the decades, it remains a legitimate problem. We also saw 2020 deliver some of the worst crash rates in U.S. history despite people undoubtedly driving less and the previous downward trends. Sadly, the government solution seem to be based around inconveniencing regular people while simultaneously violating their right to privacy.

The 2,700-page document suggests installing automated traffic enforcement hubs, networked with speed and stoplight cameras (similar to what currently exists in China) and requiring automakers to install breathalyzers (or their equivalent) inside of vehicles that must be used before an automobile can even be started. This is a popular tactic among the court system as a way to ensure DUI recipients aren’t setting off three sheets to the wind. But one of the criticisms was that drivers could simply have someone else blow into the device. Well, the interested parties have accounted for that by requiring some kind of in-car monitoring system that not only makes sure you’re the one blowing but also has the ability to track face and eye movements in case you’re planning to get drunk while driving.

Considering automakers are already installing driver-facing cameras as part of their “advanced driving suites” or “driver assistance packages,” it’s not much of a stretch to see that hardware readapted for government use. The industry has even begun signaling that it’s happy to comply.

Carla Bailo, CEO of the Center for Automotive Research, recently told NBC News that the real issue won’t even be developing the hardware to do this. It already exists. The hard part will be making it cheap enough so that automakers can make sure all of it can go into literally every car produced.

“I don’t think that will be as easy as people might think,” Bailo said.

From NBC:

Nissan, for one, is working on a system that would use several different methods to see if an impaired driver is behind the wheel. Multiple sensors detect alcohol in cabin air. A camera atop the instrument cluster looks for facial cues signaling the driver is inebriated, and the vehicle itself looks for driving patterns suggesting an impaired driver.

But one concern is that the system could be triggered by drunk passengers, even with a sober, designated driver.

The federal government is funding research through the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program. Several possible solutions are being studied, including one similar to a Breathalyzer. It would measure alcohol in the air around the driver, however, rather than requiring a motorist to blow into a tube every time they want start their vehicle. Like Nissan’s system, the challenge is to avoid false positives from an inebriated passenger.

A second system measures blood alcohol content in the body’s capillaries by shining a light on a driver’s finger. It could be built into a vehicle’s start button or steering wheel.

It’s all very futuristic until you remember that self-driving cars were supposed to have arrived a couple of years ago and the industry’s solution was to release a bunch of half-baked assistance features that mandate constant surveillance so the automaker can avoid any liabilities. That technology is now becoming the keystone for the proposed safety legislation that’s lurking in the Senate infrastructure bill.

Those in need of further proof that this is all sketchy as hell need look no further than its endorsement by the world’s largest automotive lobby. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) has already expressed support for driver-monitoring cameras, which are completely in line with what the bill’s proposing.

“The auto industry has long been committed to supporting public and private efforts to address this tragic threat to road safety,” John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, stated. “This legislation furthers the possibility for advanced technologies to help address the risk of impaired driving.”

Additional requirements from the bill include automakers to include some sort of rear-seat monitoring that would alert operators when they’ve left a child in the rear seat (something many vehicles already have) and collision detection systems (ditto). The only real change is that they would be required hardware for all vehicles, rather than something that could be added as an option. Of course, the industry doesn’t care because their inclusion can now just be baked into the final asking price, rather than something you’ll have to be sold into at the dealership.

If you have a free weekend, I strongly urge you to read the bill. It’s not just the automotive content that veers into the weeds. The entire thing is loaded with those weird inclusions that have nothing to do with infrastructure but had no other way of being snuck into law. Though it could be too late by then because a vote on the bill is expected to take place at any moment.

[Image: Architect of the Capitol]

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Another Takata Airbag Tragedy

April 22, 2021 admin

American Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that a defective Takata airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2002 Honda Accord on January 9th in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The ruptured inflator led to the driver’s death.

There have been 16 U.S. deaths and more than 200 injuries due to ruptured Takata airbag driver’s inflators. Two other automakers have had three Takata airbag inflator fatalities, for a total of 19 in the U.S.

According to Honda, the vehicle involved had been under a recall since April 2011 for replacement of the Takata driver’s frontal airbag inflator. Honda sent mailers, and made phone calls, emails, and in-person visits, but completed no repairs. The driver killed in the accident was not the owner. It is unclear if the driver knew of the vehicle recall.

Honda has sufficient replacement inflators now to complete free repairs for any recalled Hondas and Acuras in the United States. They urge all owners of any Honda or Acura affected by the Takata airbag inflator recall to get their vehicles to an authorized dealer immediately. Older vehicles, particularly 2001-2003 model year vehicles, have an increased risk of an airbag inflator rupture, and they pose the greatest safety hazard. Owners can check their vehicles’ recall status at www.recalls.honda.com or www.recalls.acura.com.

From my experience with a Ford Ranger equipped with a Takata airbag, it took six months and two Ford dealerships to get a replacement inflator. I wondered if I was driving a time bomb, and the notion that the inflator could explode at any time was unsettling. The first dealer was unconcerned, but the second dealer, Vancouver Ford in Washington, gave me a loaner vehicle for two weeks until the repair was completed. The service manager told me Ford had authorized him to provide loaners to avoid this from occurring.

If two other automakers have had a total of three deaths, and Honda has had 16, what does that tell you about its — and/or its dealers — efforts to get all of these vehicles repaired without further injury or loss of life?

[Image: Honda]

Dominos, Nuro Team Up to Test Driverless Delivery Vehicles

April 13, 2021 admin

Domino’s and Silicon Valley startup Nuro are partnering to use the self-driving R2 robot to deliver pizzas in Houston.

The development of Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology can sometimes be as easy as pie, a pizza pie that is.

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based pizza chain Domino’s and autonomous vehicle developer Nuro Monday unveiled a new self-driving pizza delivery vehicle. The two companies will be testing in a Houston neighborhood.

The way it works is that select customers who place a prepaid website order from the participating Domino’s store can opt to have their order delivered by R2, the nickname for the driverless vehicle, which got approval to drive on roads in California in February 2020 — first vehicle to get that approval in the U.S.

These select customers receive text alerts updating them on R2’s location and provide them with a unique PIN to retrieve their order once the vehicle arrives at their home. Customers may also track the vehicle via GPS on their order confirmation page. Once R2 arrives, customers will be prompted to enter their PIN on the robot’s touchscreen. R2’s doors will then open upward, revealing the customer’s hot Domino’s order.

Pizza delivery explores future of AVs

Domino’s and Nuro are launching autonomous pizza delivery in Houston, beginning this week.

“We’re excited to continue innovating the delivery experience for Domino’s customers by testing autonomous delivery with Nuro in Houston,” said Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer.

“There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations.”

Domino’s spokeswoman Dani Bulger said this system will not eliminate Domino’s need for delivery drivers, as this is a test intended to keep us ahead in the world of technology.

“We’ve introduced many innovations over the years, which have changed the roles of some jobs, but employment has continued to grow,” Bulger said. “We believe autonomous vehicles will play a role in our overall delivery strategy, alongside our delivery drivers, as we continue to provide the best delivery experience possible to our customers. We don’t use third-party delivery aggregators.”

This isn’t Domino’s maiden voyage with autonomous delivery vehicles. In 2017, the pizza maker teamed with Ford on a similar project in Ann Arbor. The test program ran six weeks and used driverless Ford Fusion sedans converted for specially for the project. Each vehicle is equipped with a heated compartment that can carry up to four pizzas and five side dishes.

The Niro R2 is designed to tackle the “last mile” deliveries, like groceries.

Much like the Nuro-Domino’s collaboration, customers punched in PIN to gain access to their order. There actually was a person behind the wheel of the prototype delivery vehicles — a Ford engineer monitoring the operation of the test cars. But the windows of the vehicles will be blacked out and there was no direct interaction with customers.

Size matters

The Silicon Valley startup rolled out its first iteration of R2 last fall. It’s specifically designed for “last mile” deliveries. To that end, the R2 is small. And that’s for a specific reason. Narrow vehicles allow for better passive and dynamic safety. This could help prevent pedestrian fatalities on roads.

Since Nuro vehicles only carry goods, the company can turn safety innovation inside out, shifting its focus to protecting those outside the vehicle.

The R2 features 360-degree cameras, as well as Lidar, short and long-range radar, and ultrasonic sensors. These techs combine that advanced hardware with a robust autonomy stack that includes mapping, localization, perception, and prediction. The result is a representation of the road without any blind spots.

Ford and Domino’s partnered in a test program to deliver pizzas using autonomous vehicles.

Intelligent production

The R2 is built using the principles of “Intelligent Production.” The company uses basic components when they make sense and crafts custom parts when needed. That allows Nuro to build the best system without being limited by the constraints of existing vehicles.

This approach allows Nuro to deploy and iterate quickly to create safe autonomous solutions as quickly as possible.

“Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics. Now, for the first time, we’re launching real world, autonomous deliveries with R2 and Domino’s,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery robots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”

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“Zoom Zombies” Are the Driving Dead

April 7, 2021 admin

Too many of these could turn you into a zombie if you have to climb behind the wheel afterward.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who have been working from home and spending hours a day in video meetings you might notice it can become difficult pulling your thoughts back together at the end of the day. And if you then have to climb behind the wheel that could prove deadly.

A new study raises concerns about “Zoom Zombies,” motorists who can’t fully focus on the road ahead after a day of videoconferencing. This may be one of the reasons why in 2020 U.S. highway deaths posted their biggest year-over-year increase in nearly a century.

“COVID-19 fundamentally changed the way we interact with our vehicles,” said David Timm, founder and CEO of Root Insurance, which raised concerns about Zoom Zombies in its annual Distracted Driving Awareness Survey. “As many abruptly shifted to a virtual environment, Americans’ reliance on technology dramatically increased along with their screen time, causing a majority of drivers to carry this distracted behavior into their vehicles.”

Covid-19 and the distracted driving pandemic

NHTSA estimates that more than 10% of highway deaths stem from distracted driving.

Distracted driving has become an increasingly serious problem as more and more motorists interact with smartphones and other technology while behind the wheel. Even before the COVID pandemic, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that more than 10% of highway fatalities involved distracted driving. Preliminary analysis suggests that has gone up since last year’s lockdowns began.

The Roots study found 64% of the U.S. motorists it surveyed acknowledging they check their phones while driving. That’s up 2% from last year, and 6% from the 2019 Distracted Driving Awareness Survey. Meanwhile, 53% of the respondents said they check their phones within the first 15 minutes behind the wheel — a 9% jump from 2019 — when they should be trying to shift focus to driving.

Add the fact that drivers are downplaying the risks. The study found three in 10 drivers don’t see the risk of driving while using a mobile phone. That’s up from 24% just a year ago.

But the study raised another concern: even when motorists aren’t texting or chatting on their phones, they still might not be paying full attention to the job of driving.

Lexus Driving Disrupted distracted drivers

Younger drivers are more likely to have trouble concentrating on the road after engaging in some sort of video conference call.

The younger the driver, the worse the problem

Root reports that 54% of the 1,819 adult motorists it surveyed have had trouble concentrating on the road after making videoconference calls with Zoom, Microsoft Meet or some other software platform. The younger the driver, the worse the problem. For Gen Z motorists, 65% reported losing focus while driving, while it was 61% for millennials and 48% for Gen-Xers.

“The problem with distraction is huge and it’s not just checking e-mail or texting,” said Russ Rader, an executive with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “There’s the risk of cognitive distraction, looking at the road while your thoughts are elsewhere. That zoning out may mean you don’t notice a dangerous situation soon enough to react.”

Whether you call them “Zoom Zombies” or “Zoombies,” the problem has gained widespread attention, and concern — especially when it comes to driving.

If it appears drivers has seemingly forgotten how to drive as pandemic-related restrictions eased, it’s because, well, they have.

“I think computer use, in general, can overload you,” especially after a series of videoconference meetings, said Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator and longtime auto safety advocate. “After you get into your car you may be operating on auto pilot.”

Driving skills have atrophied

That’s all the worse as we emerge from the pandemic, experts told TheDetroitBureau.com. During the last 12 months, most Americans have been driving less and even as roadways begin to look more crowded, “driving skills have atrophied for many people,” warns Sam Abuelsamid, principal auto analyst with Guidehouse Insights.

“It’s become harder to drive safely because you’re going to forget some of the skills you learned over time,” added Abuelsamid. “It’s not as easy as just jumping back on a bike.”

While he believes Zoom fatigue is “likely a contributor to the increase in highway fatalities,” how much it contributes is uncertain. What’s clear is that highway fatalities soared in 2020, even as motorists slashed the number of miles they drove.

Record surge in fatalities

Preliminary data indicated as many as 42,060 Americans were killed in motor vehicle crashes last year, the National Safety Council reported last month. That was an 8% increase from 2019. That surge occurred even though Americans drove a total of 2.83 trillion miles in 2020. That was a 13.2% decrease from the year before, marking the lowest level of driving by American motorists in two decades, reported the U.S. Federal Highway Authority.

Traffic fatalities rose in 2020, rising 8%, but the death rate, the number of deaths per miles driven, jumped 24% compared with 2019.

So, on a per mile basis, the death rate surged by 24% in 2020, the biggest year-over-year increase since 1924.

Why does “Zooming” take so much out of people? It’s not like sitting around a table for an in-person meeting. Key visual cues are absent, such as body language, while others can overwhelm, according to psychologist Sharon Parker, director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design.

They tend to be sharply focused, without the normal chit-chat and other interactions that come before — sometimes during — and after in-person meetings, Parker wrote. One result: participants come away struggling to interpret what actually happened rather than transferring attention to what comes next.

And that may extend beyond the work day to when you’re behind the wheel and should be focusing on the road ahead.

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