By throwing in a couple of lines of code with a new over-the-air update, Tesla is able to stop its cars from running into buildings, cars, and other stationary objects at low-speeds, preventing unintended acceleration cases.
Sudden unintended acceleration cases are by and large user error cases where drivers report their car suddenly leaped forward as if by some design flaw. With no in-car cameras to catch the user’s mistake, lengthy lawsuits play out where the burden of proof suddenly is transferred to the car manufacturer to prove that their design is indeed not flawed. But now as per Tesla’s latest OTA update and as noticed by a Tesla owner earlier today (Oct. 22,2018), Tesla solved this problem entirely by making it almost impossible to “suddenly accelerate” your Tesla into a stationary or slow-moving object.
I see @Tesla has added a feature in V9 for the subset of drivers who confuse the accelerator for the brake (and swear that could not have happened).
Well done. pic.twitter.com/YIyTJctPOR— Bonnie Norman (@bonnienorman) October 19, 2018
I’m going to assume this bit of code uses the Teslas onboard cameras to check traffic in front of the car. If those cameras detect a stationery or slow-moving object, throttle application will either be cut-off entirely or severely reduced. With this feature “On” even if a Tesla driver’s foot were to accidentally slam on the accelerator and cameras detect its parked in front of a 7-11 or (insert your stationary object here) it’ll prevent you from damaging your ride.
This is to improve on the already robust data-logging that all Teslas have at the moment of collision, taking a snapshot of the last couple of seconds and what was going on. More importantly, Tesla can prove if there was a physical application of the pedal or not.
Now, instead of having to resort to looking at black-box data, Tesla is giving the benefit of the doubt to its drivers, helping them help themselves to not crash.
This might also be useful if you’re prone to road-rage or has a spouse who is. With this feature turned on, even if you slam your pedal to the floor in an attempt to rear-end someone, your Tesla will prevent you a potentially costly mistake.
Source: Inside EVs
