Tesla adds 'unsafe' chill, assertive self-driving modes
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Tesla installs three automated driving modes in its vehicles and faces criticism for unsafe driving.
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Social media users criticized the updated driving modes as being unsafe for drivers.
Electric vehicles manufacturer Tesla installed an assertive driving mode in its automated driver-assist feature, reported BBC.
The newly added mode will allow the Tesla vehicle to follow other cars more closely, switch lanes frequently, and perform rolling stops, the network mentioned, confirming that these are driving behaviors discouraged by safety groups
In October, Tesla added three driving modes -- chill, average, and assertive. However, the updates were removed due to some technical issues, but have been recently restored.
David Zipper, a technology writer and visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, tweeted a photo showing Tesla's assertive mode description.
The displayed message read, "Your Model X will have a smaller follow distance, perform more frequent speed lane changes, will not exit passing lanes and may perform rolling stops," The Verge mentioned.
I guess "Road Rage Mode" didn't fit on the screen pic.twitter.com/6pJNFvrJXA
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) January 9, 2022
According to BBC, a number of social media users criticized the updated driving modes as being unsafe for drivers.
In addition, US federal traffic safety inspectors said in December 2021 they have opened investigations against Tesla models that allowed a game to be played during driving, which could cause distraction and increase the chances of a crash.
However, Matthew Avery, from the UK's Thatcham Research, indicated that Tesla's automatic system should be safer than human drivers since it eliminates human error.
Nonetheless, Avery pointed out that the assertive mode must avoid aggressive driving and doubted the new technology would currently work.
"I don't think we're there yet. I don't think the technology is sophisticated enough."
Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" feature is only available in the US for limited testing till now, said BBC.
The feature has been subject to much debate, as media have covered a number of crashes involving the technology, the network noted.
