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NHTSA Warns Tesla Owners Not to Use Real Kids to Test the Car's Safety Features

A concentrated campaign against Tesla FSD software has prompted Tesla fans to use unorthodox methods to prove that Tesla safety tech can recognize children. That’s why the NHTSA felt it’s time to warn Tesla owners not to use children to test the car’s safety features.
NHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety features 10 photos
Photo: Whole Mars Catalog vis Youtube
NHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety featuresNHTSA warns Tesla owners not to use real kids to test the car’s safety features
If you love reading about cars, you probably know there’s a war going on between Tesla fans and those who claim that Tesla Full Self-Driving software can’t recognize children. The heated debate led several Tesla owners to devise foolish methods to prove that Teslas can indeed recognize children and take measures to avoid them. These included placing real children in front of their cars to prove a point.

The online videos have prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to react. In a statement to Bloomberg, the agency said it uses controlled procedures for its safety tests, and “it could be highly dangerous for anyone to attempt to test vehicle technologies on their own.” This should have been obvious to anyone with a sane mind, but some people place so much faith in technology that they are willing to bet their children’s lives to prove it works.

“No one should risk their life, or the life of anyone else, to test the performance of vehicle technology,” the agency said. “Consumers should never attempt to create their own test scenarios or use real people, and especially children, to test the performance of vehicle technology.”

Tesla fan Omar Qazi, better known as Whole Mars Catalog on Twitter, has shared a 10-minute video (linked below) showing a test of Tesla’s self-driving mode on a residential street. At one point, a child is shown standing in the middle of the road. The car starts moving slowly and then stops before reaching the child. The video was made in response to several videos showing Tesla cars mowing child-sized dummies.

Tesla Full Self Driving software is still unfinished software, recognized by the “Beta” part in its name. However good, it can sometimes fail, and it can fail catastrophically at the worst possible moment. The NHTSA investigates the software following a series of complaints about crashes allegedly caused while using FSD. Nevertheless, Tesla FSD is incapable of autonomous driving, as stated on the Tesla website. The NHTSA also reiterated that “no vehicle available for purchase today is capable of driving itself.”

The agency also confirmed that it owns a 2017 Tesla Model S 90D that received the FSD Beta software update on April 1. This was after NHTSA requested Tesla to help get into the beta program in January. The car is used for testing purposes at the NHTSA facility in East Liberty, Ohio, the agency said.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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