Keep a look out for self-crashing Teslas. The NHTSA is asleep at the wheel (for political reasons.)

Posted by freedomforall 2 years, 11 months ago to Politics
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Excerpt:
"Who gets the blame when the government knowingly allows the public roads to be used as a test-track for dangerous technologies?

That’s the question which the federal “safety” apparat – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – will probably not be asking itself as it “probes” the self-crashing cars electric car manufacturer Tesla has been testing on public roads . . with living crash test dummies.

Tesla has never hidden that it offers self-crashing technology; it simply advertises it as “self-driving” capability, styled Autopilot. It has been offering it for years. The media has been reporting on it for years. The crashes – and deaths – have been happening for years. Most recently in Texas about a week ago, when a 2019 Model S equipped with Tesla’s Autopilot system left the road “at a high rate of speed” and self-drove into a tree.

Two men were killed. Apparently, neither one was in the driver’s seat.

This is not, however, the first time.

Or the tenth time.

There have been at least two dozen other crashes over the past several years involving Teslas equipped with Autopilot technology. Videos have been posted to social media of people literally asleep behind the wheel of their Teslas. On purpose. Some of these have hundreds of thousands of views and made national network news. Owners openly brag about not driving their cars.

If NHTSA wasn’t aware there might be a problem with AutoPilot, Rip Van Winkle phone home.

NHTSA, of course, is perfectly aware. It is merely selective about “safety” – calling into question whether that is its raison d’ etre . . . or its excuse.

A relevant example of the federal agency’s often-indifference to “safety” being the recent fiasco over lethally defective Takata airbags.

Not the bags, themselves. The reaction to the deaths caused by them.

Even though NHTSA knows that there are still tens of thousands of cars on the road equipped with these known-defective bags – which can and already have killed – it refuses to allow car dealers or independent mechanics to even temporarily disable them until all of them can be replaced.

Perhaps because that would set a dangerous regulatory precedent for the disabling of a government-mandated “safety” device.

It also might raise uncomfortable questions about the mandating of “safety” technology in the first place, since no “safety” technology – including even seat belts – is perfectly “safe.” Sometimes, they kill. They may, on balance, save more.

But when it is our lives on the table, perhaps it ought to be up to us – our right, even – to weigh the risks and rewards?

But then, there’s no power – for government “safety” apparatchiks – in that."
SOURCE URL: https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/05/01/elons-test-track/


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  • Posted by $ BobCat 2 years, 11 months ago
    “ Who gets the blame when the government knowingly allows the public roads to be used as a test-track for dangerous technologies?” This sentence is also applicable to today, sticky, messy, sexed-up fiasco called — Wuhan Flu Vaccines !

    Boy oh boy, our government is so royally screwed up beyond repair, it’s a wonder it even operates at all.
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  • Posted by Dobrien 2 years, 11 months ago
    Thanks FFA 👍🏻👍🏼👍👍🏿👍🏾👍🏽
    “When it is our lives on the table perhaps it ought to be up to US -our right.......

    PEOPLE [UNITED] HAVE THE POWER.
    That to secure these rights, GOVERNMENTs are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -That whenever any Form of GOVERNMENT becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new GOVERNMENT, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that GOVERNMENTs long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such GOVERNMENT, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
    Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
    Q
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  • Posted by $ blarman 2 years, 11 months ago
    A close buddy of mine works for a microchip company. We recently celebrated some good times and the topic of Tesla came up because all of us are computer nerds. I was surprised as he unloaded on Tesla's bugs and faulty engineering. "A computer company shouldn't be making cars," was one quote and he provided a detailed laundry list of abject stupidity, such as a newer version of the control system that doesn't have any gears - including reverse - but tries to guess which one you want...

    Uh... I'm going to stick with the tried and true - not some hackneyed POS which is more likely to kill me than get me to work...
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 2 years, 11 months ago
    Regarding airbags I know someone whose wife was tragically killed by airbags 20 years ago. The car was hardly moving when they deployed. He researched it and said he believed safety advocates had pushed adoption of airbags before they were ready. His wife was really short. I hope they've improved b/c my wife and I are 5'0" and 5'6" and sit close to the wheel.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 2 years, 11 months ago
    I was in a Tesla taxi this week, and it felt like the driver had ludicrous mode (that's a real thing) enabled. I don't think he using. I saw it complain once that he didn't have both hands on the wheel. My Volvo has the pilot feature where it keeps you in the lane and adjusts speed for traffic; it will also complain if you don't keep your hands on the wheel.
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