{"id":1143376,"date":"2021-12-22T19:04:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T00:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1143376"},"modified":"2021-12-22T19:04:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T00:04:51","slug":"distracted-drivers-nhtsa-launches-investigation-into-elon-musks-tesla-over-video-game-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/distracted-drivers-nhtsa-launches-investigation-into-elon-musks-tesla-over-video-game-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Distracted Drivers: NHTSA Launches Investigation into Elon Musk&#039;s Tesla over Video Game Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdistracted-drivers-nhtsa-launches-investigation-into-elon-musks-tesla-over-video-game-feature%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1143376&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">The&nbsp;National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reportedly launched yet another investigation into Tesla vehicles, this time after Elon Musk\u2019s car company recently added an update that allows video games to be played on certain cars\u2019 digital dashboards. The NHTSA says the feature&nbsp;\u201cmay&nbsp;distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-opens-investigation-into-580000-tesla-vehicles-over-game-feature-2021-12-22\/\">reports<\/a> that the U.S. auto safety regulator, the NHTSA, has announced a formal investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 after the automaker recently pushed an update that allows video games to be played on the cars\u2019 center touchscreen.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_11996057\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Elon-Musk-and-Cybertruck.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11996057\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Elon-Musk-and-Cybertruck.jpg\" alt=\"Elon Musk and Cybertruck\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elon Musk and Cybertruck (Ringo H.W. Chiu\/AP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_8386838\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tesla-Crash-California.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8386838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tesla-Crash-California.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla Crash and fire in Mountain View, CA is being investigated by the NTSB\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla Crash and fire in Mountain View, CA is being investigated by the NTSB (Twitter\/Dean C. Smith)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The NHTSA stated that its preliminary evaluation relates to Tesla Model 3, S, X, and Y vehicles manufactured between 2017 and 2022. The recent update that allowed users to play video games on the cars center dashboard is called \u201cPassenger Play,\u201d but the NHTSA believes that it <a href=\"https:\/\/static.nhtsa.gov\/odi\/inv\/2021\/INOA-PE21023-9605.PDF\">\u201cmay&nbsp;distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The NHTSA stated that it has \u201cconfirmed that this capability has been available since December 2020 in Tesla \u2018Passenger Play\u2019-equipped vehicles.\u201d Before December 2020, the game feature \u201cwas enabled only when the vehicle was in Park.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NHTSA reportedly plans to&nbsp;\u201cevaluate aspects of the feature, including the frequency and use scenarios of Tesla \u2018Passenger Play.&#8217;\u201d The agency noted earlier this month that distracted driving accounts for a large number of U.S. road deaths, causing 3,142 deaths in 2019 alone.<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, the agency issued guidelines to encourage automakers&nbsp;\u201cto factor safety and driver distraction-prevention into their designs and adoption of infotainment devices in vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The guidelines \u201crecommend that in-vehicle devices be designed so that they cannot be used by the driver to perform inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In August, the NHTSA opened a safety investigation into 765,000 Tesla vehicles over the company\u2019s driver-assistance system called \u201cAutopilot\u201d following a series of crashing involving the self-driving system and a number of emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Breitbart News has reported extensively on crashes involving Tesla\u2019s Autopilot system. Breitbart <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2021\/04\/19\/two-dead-in-driverless-tesla-crash\/\">reported in April<\/a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;two men died near Houston after a Tesla vehicle that was believed to be operating without anyone in the driver\u2019s seat crashed into a tree.&nbsp;Sgt. Cinthya Umanzor of the Harris County Constable Precinct 4 said: \u201cThere was no one in the driver\u2019s seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 2019 Tesla Model S vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when it failed to correctly navigate a curve and left the roadway, crashing into a tree and exploding into flames,&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/local\/tesla-spring-crash-fire\/285-c28a4993-5b5f-43f4-a924-e39638390647\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">according<\/a>&nbsp;to local television station KHOU-TV.<\/p>\n<p>The fire was extinguished and authorities located two occupants in the vehicle. One was in the first passenger seat while the other was in the back seat of the Tesla, the report stated citing&nbsp;Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.<\/p>\n<p>In January of 2020, Breitbart News&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2020\/01\/09\/feds-opens-special-investigation-into-fatal-tesla-crash-in-indiana\/\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;that the NHTSA was&nbsp;launching an investigation into a crash in Indiana in which a Tesla Model 3 collided with a fire truck. The crash resulted in the death of a passenger and at the time marked the 14th crash involving a Tesla that the NHTSA\u2019s special crash investigation program suspected involved Tesla\u2019s Autopilot system.<\/p>\n<p>Read more at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-opens-investigation-into-580000-tesla-vehicles-over-game-feature-2021-12-22\/\">Reuters here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;<\/i><i><a class=\"x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/lucasnolan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">@LucasNolan<\/a>&nbsp;<\/i><i>or contact via secure email at the address&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"mailto:lucasnolan@protonmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">lucasnolan@protonmail.com<\/a><\/i><i><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reportedly launched yet another investigation into Tesla vehicles, this time after Elon Musk\u2019s car company recently added an update that allows video games &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1143376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1143376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1143376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1143376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1143376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}