National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday it has asked 12 major automakers for assistance as part of its investigation into vehicle crashes involving Tesla vehicles striking emergency vehicles while using advanced driver assistance systems like Autopilot.
NHTSA sent letters to General Motors, Toyota Motor, Ford Motor, Volkswagen, and others as the agency carries out a “comparative analysis” with other production vehicles geared up with the ability to control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously under some circumstances.
In August, the agency started a formal safety investigation into Tesla driver assistance system Autopilot after 12 vehicle crashes with emergency vehicles. The probe covers 765,000 U.S. Tesla vehicles built from 2014 to 2021.
The agency asked the automakers to list any crashes concerning Tesla in which an advanced driver assistance system was engaged at “anytime during the period beginning 30 seconds immediately prior to the commencement of the crash.”
The letters also seek information on its driver assistance systems to ensure drivers pay attention and how they find out if drivers are engaged. NHTSA gave some automakers until November 3 to respond and others until November 17.
