NHTSA has also sent a letter to Tesla addressing the distribution of improved ability to detect emergency vehicles and the release of the Full Self-Driving Beta Request Menu option. NHTSA reminds Tesla that manufacturers are required to initiate a recall by notifying NHTSA when they determine vehicles or equipment they produce contain defects related to safety or do not comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard. The notice is to be filed within five working days of the company's knowledge of the defect or noncompliance. The letter states that, "any manufacturer issuing an over-the-air update that mitigates a defect that poses an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety is required to timely file an accompanying recall notice to NHTSA …".

NHTSA is requesting several things from Tesla, including a chronology of events, investigations and studies that led to the deployment of the update, list the vehicle model/years that received the Emergency Light Detection Update, provide an assessment of incidents provided earlier to Tesla and its assessment of any changes to incident timing or outcome had the Emergency Light Detection Update been operational at the time of the accident with supporting analyses, indicate if Tesla intends to issue a recall and if not, to provide Tesla's legal/technical basis for declining to do so, provide a copy of agreements between Tesla and the owner of a subject vehicle regarding repairs, software upgrades, refunds or other compensation, provide a timeline and criteria for allowing access to customers who have requested consideration in the FSD Beta Request process, including detailed descriptions of all selection criteria, provide a list of the number of respondents who have opted in on the beta request, and for each vehicle equipped with FSD provide the VIN number, the date FSD was installed on the vehicle, and whether the owner is an employee of Tesla.

The letter then lists various penalties for failure to comply with the requests, and provides directions for sending confidential business information, due by November 1, 2021. If that date cannot be met a request for extension may be made. The full text of the letter can be found here.

NHTSA Advanced Driver-Assistance Requirements

In June, NHTSA required manufacturers to report all accidents involving vehicles and trucks that use advanced driver-assistance technology, such as the Autopilot and GM's Super Cruise. Accidents involving a fatality, injuries where a person was transported to a hospital, the vehicle was towed or the airbags deployed, are to be reported to authorities within one day of the manufacturer being notified of the accident.

While the requirements apply to all vehicle manufacturers, Tesla is mentioned more than others, and of the three dozen accidents under investigation, all but six involved Tesla. Tesla has been criticized for its approach to autonomous driving; the first being the name of its system, Autopilot. The name implies that the vehicle can run autonomously when it has not reached that level of sophistication. Autonomous vehicles are categorized in levels from zero to five, zero having no automation and five being fully autonomous. Teslas and most other vehicles fall into category two. The difference is that other manufacturers use names that imply a more sophisticated level of cruise control or enhanced safety features, and don't imply that the vehicle can navigate on its own.

Not only that, but Tesla has announced that it will release its beta version of Full Self Driving (FSD) technology, and has started scoring a certain number of drivers to qualify them to receive the software for FSD. This raises several serious concerns.

Potential FTC Involvement

The use of the name Autopilot and Full Self-Driving when the vehicles can do neither is of great concern. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey have sent a letter to the chair of the Federal Trade Commission regarding Tesla's overstating of its vehicles' capabilities in its advertising and that such advertising creates a safety threat to motorists and others on the road. They are requesting that the FTC open an investigation into the potentially deceptive and unfair marketing of its automation systems and take appropriate enforcement action if necessary in order to protect the public.

They refer to the NHTSA investigations, and state that while the vehicles are partially automated and can provide lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control features, that the vehicles are not fully autonomous and there are no fully autonomous vehicles available on the market. The senators are concerned that Autopilot and FSD are not as mature and reliable as the advertisements state. The letter cites various accidents involving use and misuse of the Autopilot system resulting in accidents and Tesla's consistent misrepresentation of the vehicle's' capabilities and progress towards safe Autopilot and FSD technology. The senators take issue with Elon Musk's repeated statements concerning the vehicles, his predictions that FSD will be available by the end of the year and his weak cautionary statements regarding use of the same. The full text of the letter can be found here.

State Action

So the industry, particularly Tesla, is experiencing bumps along the road to autonomous vehicles, something to be expected. However there are still underlying concerns regarding regulation and the lack thereof, and liability. If and when a vehicle becomes fully autonomous, who is responsible when the vehicle causes an accident? Who is allowed to ride in an autonomous vehicle; can someone without a driver's license ride in a vehicle without a licensed driver? Can a teenager or a disabled person be the sole occupant? If so, who is responsible in event of an accident?

Autonomous trucks are seen as a partial solution to the lack of truck drivers; platoons of autonomous trucks may be the first autonomous vehicles in regular use. Trucks are used primarily along highways that are easier to navigate than city streets, two lane roads, and other areas frequently traveled by private passenger vehicles. Autonomous trucks will have a safety driver who will navigate the vehicle from the warehouse to the highway, then the autonomous system can be put into use. Alabama allows trucks to operate without a driver in the vehicle if a remote driver is operating the vehicle. However, that remote driver is held liable for any violations of rules of the road or the criminal code, and remote drivers are required to have a proper license to drive the vehicle in question.

Many states have developed some sort of regulation regarding testing of autonomous vehicles, definitions of what qualifies as an autonomous vehicle, who is allowed to operate an autonomous vehicle and is a driver's license required, and what to do and who is responsible in event of an accident. Various requirements are outlined in order for vehicles to operate without a driver in certain states. Nevada provides for an endorsement to be added to a driver's license for those driving autonomous vehicles. Many states modify the following-too-closely rule so that trucks can platoon. When trucks platoon they are connected by a computer system that aligns speed, acceleration and braking, leaving drivers to steer, watch the system and intervene when necessary. They travel in a unified manner at close following distances, making it necessary for states to modify the following-too-closely rules. A complete list of state regulations can be found here.

Effects on Insurance

Once the inherent liability issues are solved, what about insurance coverage? They are still vehicles, albeit with complicated and more expensive computer systems, but otherwise the risk is still the same. Premiums may rise at first given the cost of repairs, but once there are more autonomous vehicles on the road than those that are not, accidents should drop significantly, so losses would be left to other than collision perils, such as hail, floods, falling objects and others. Predictions are that the auto insurance industry will be seriously impacted due to the significant drop in claims and any question how it will affect premiums and carrier income. However, that is a long way off; first autonomous vehicles have to be perfected, then a sufficient number of people need to buy them and put them on the road. Since the average age of an auto on the road today is 12.1 years, it will be some time before there are enough autonomous vehicles on the road to change the industry.

UPDATE: On November 2, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that  Tesla announced a recall of almost 12,000 vehicles because of a communication error that may cause a false forward-collision warning or unexpected activation of the emergency brakes. The recall is related to a software update to vehicles in the limited early access version 10.3 Full-Self Driving (FSD) Beta users. The software was removed from the vehicles and replaced with FSD version 10.3.1.