Not every crash that appears to have been caused by a driver was actually their fault. Sometimes, vehicles malfunction. The brakes may fail to work or an airbag may deploy for no reason. As cars become more technologically advanced, there are more elements that can fail to work properly or are simply unsafe.
Tesla has always been a leader in technology that will one day make cars fully autonomous. They still have some safety issues to work out, though.
“Rolling stop” technology
Another one of those has garnered media attention as the electric vehicle (EV) automaker announced that it is recalling almost 54,000 cars in the U.S. because they may only come to a “rolling stop” at intersections. The cars being recalled, which have model years between 2016 and 2022, all have Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta software.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) agrees. In a statement about the recall, the agency explained that federal law “prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with defects posing unreasonable risks to safety, including intentional design choices that are unsafe.” Anyone who’s ever been ticketed for coming to a rolling stop knows that it also violates state laws.
Tesla, which claims that as of late January, it hadn’t been notified of any crashes or injuries caused by the function, has agreed to make an “over-the-air” (OTA) update to the software to disable it.
This isn’t the first time Tesla’s state-of-the-art vehicles have aroused concerns about safety and brought the attention of NHTSA. Late last year, it made an OTA update on some of its vehicles that allowed drivers to play video games on their touchscreen while the car was moving. Tesla agreed to disable the feature.
If you’ve been injured in a crash caused by a malfunctioning vehicle – whether you were driving it or someone else was – it’s wise to determine what your options are for seeking compensation. Even if another driver’s vehicle caused the crash, you may have a better chance of getting optimal compensation from the manufacturer than the driver. It’s wise to seek legal guidance.