Will concern over Tesla death close self-driving 'loophole'?

The crash in Florida that killed a driver who was using his Tesla's Autopilot feature is raising questions about whether stronger federal regulation will make sure self-driving technology is thoroughly tested before going into cars.

"It wasn't ready to go out on the road," said Rosemary Shahan, president of the advocacy group
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety about Tesla's Autopilot. "If you have a system called Autopilot that cannot distinguish between the side of a truck and the open sky, it's not ready."

The crash that killed Joshua Brown, 40, of Ohio as he was driving near Williston, Fla., on May 7 comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is believed to be formulating guidelines around the development of self-driving cars. While the agency has encouraged the advent of self-driving cars as way of preventing accidents, the crash underscores the urgency to make sure that the systems remain safe during their development phase.

The crash, too, caught the eye of Congress. Lawmakers have kept a closer eye on automakers' safety compliance and NHTSA following such deadly issues over recent years, including unintended acceleration in Toyotas, dangerous ignition switches in General Motors' models and lately, explosive air bags from Japanese supplier Takata.

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“The tragic Tesla crash shows again the need for aggressive oversight of an industry that has implemented new systems before they are truly tried and tested, " said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, in a statement. "Whatever the promise of self-driving cars, automakers have failed at even simpler technologies, like ignition switches and air bags.”

In Tesla's case, the Autopilot system is designed to let drivers glide down interstates in their electric luxury cars while the car does the steering and braking. If traffic slows ahead, the car automatically slows with it. The system keeps the car in its lane and assists with lane changes.

But Tesla warns owners that the system has limitations and that they need to always stay alert and be ready to step in. NHTSA is investigating whether Brown might have been distracted while his 2015 Tesla Model S was in Autopilot mode as a truck crossed his path. The exact cause of the accident is yet to be determined. But the mere fact that Tesla referred to its system as being in "beta," or test, mode and released it to its owners rankles safety advocates.

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"No manufacturer should ever put a beta system on the road and make consumers the test drivers," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. Other automakers put millions of miles on major safety systems before they are deemed ready for prime time, he says, including many hours at their own test tracks.

Ditlow said NHTSA's lack of a regulation on self-driving car features amounts to a "loophole" that Tesla exploited.

"If you look at any car, there's a certification label that says 'this vehicle meets all applicable safety standards' and you can't sell it unless you certify that it does," Ditlow said. In this case, there were none of those standards in place.

NHTSA issued a statement last week that said it has opened a preliminary evaluation into the Tesla crash and that it "will examine the design and performance of the automated driving systems in use at the time of the crash." Spokesman Bryan Thomas declined to elaborate Tuesday.

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In the meantime, Tesla could do a better job of educating its owners about the Autopilot system — its use, limitations and any other safety issues — before letting owners use it, says Mark Rechtin, autos editor for Consumer Reports.

"It's one of things where Tesla needs to do a thorough job of educating the customer," he said. Rechtin said he has tried Autopilot in the Tesla that Consumer Reportspurchased. It's "limited technology," not yet a true self-driving system, and handy on long stretches of uncrowded highway or during routine driving, he said.

"This is not a self-driving car. It's driving assist," Rechtin said. "And right there on the screen, it says 'beta.' "