WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on a safety board meeting on semiautonomous control systems in cars (all times local):
4 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board says an inattentive driver’s over reliance on his Tesla Model S sedan’s semi-autonomous driving system and a truck driver who made a left-hand turn in front of the car are both to blame for a fatal crash last year
The board is recommending that automakers incorporate safeguards that limit the use of automated vehicle control systems to the conditions for which they were designed.
Tech company owner Joshua Brown of Canton, Ohio, was traveling on a divided highway near Gainesville, Florida, using the Tesla’s automated driving systems when he was killed.
The NTSB says the collision is the first known fatal crash of a highway vehicle operating under automated control systems.
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11:45 a.m.
Investigators are dividing the blame for the fatal crash of a Tesla Model S sedan last year between an inattentive driver using the Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system and a truck driver who made a left-hand turn in front of the vehicle.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also warning automakers that they should incorporate safeguards into vehicles to prevent misuse of automated control systems. Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, was traveling on a divided highway with cross streets near Gainesville, Florida, in May 2016 using the Tesla’s automated driving systems when he was killed.
Telsa told owners the automated systems should only be used on limited access highways, but didn’t include protections against their use on other types of roads.
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11 a.m.
Investigators say manufacturers of semi-autonomous control systems in cars aren’t including protections that prevent drivers from misusing the technology.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators say a man killed last year while using the semi-autonomous control systems of his Tesla Model S sedan had his hands on the steering wheel only 25 seconds out of the 37.5 minutes the control systems were in use.
The Model S is a level 2 vehicle on a self-driving scale of 0 to 5, with level 5 being a vehicle capable of self-driving under nearly all circumstances.
Level 2 automation systems are generally limited to use on limited-access highways. Drivers are supposed to continuously monitor vehicle performance and be ready to take control if necessary.
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9:40 a.m.
The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board is cautioning drivers that they can’t simply turn the driving over to the semi-autonomous control systems of the cars on the market today.
Robert Sumwalt says it’s important to make that clear that there are no self-driving cars available for sale despite “all the messages out there” about autonomous vehicles. He says today’s automation systems augment, rather than replace, human drivers.
Sumwalt made his remarks as he opened an NTSB meeting to determine the likely cause of a crash last year that killed a man using the semiautonomous driving systems of his Tesla Model S sedan.
It’s the first known fatal crash of a highway vehicle operating under automated control systems.
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3:05 a.m.
Investigators will meet to determine the likely cause of a crash last year that killed a man using the semi-autonomous driving systems of his Tesla Model S sedan.
The case has raised questions about the ability of automakers to keep the attention of drivers engaged as new technology allows them to cede greater control to their vehicles.
The National Transportation Safety Board takes up the crash Tuesday, the same day Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is scheduled to unveil safety guidelines for automakers seeking to market self-driving cars. The board’s recommendations often carry weight with regulators.
Tech company owner Joshua Brown of Ohio had Tesla’s cruise control and lane-keeping systems engaged when the vehicle failed to stop for a semitrailer turning left onto a highway near Gainesville, Florida, in May 2016.
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