There Auto Be A Law

This week we debunk Elon Musk’s grandiose claims about Tesla's Robo Taxi, highlighting regulatory and safety hurdles, and the inflated value of Tesla’s stock driven by speculative products. Regulators can't seem to keep up with the new safety needs of autonomous vehicles and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2X) but Gatik AI is making an effort by adopting UL4600. The EU states the obvious - the CyberTr...

Big thank you to Janette Fennell from Kids and Cars Safety for sending us some cool swag. This weeks topics include: Tesla's controversial full self-driving claims; Regulatory issues surrounding autonomous vehicles; Self-certification in vehicle crash testing; A Fisker recall update; When/why do vehicles get crash tested; The New York legal loopholes in drug-impaired driving; Recalls and more... L...

Hello listener. Here are some highlights from this weeks episode: NHTSA is making GM Cruise submit a report of it's software updates every 90 days. Anthony suggests NHTSA ask for the commit logs and other developer documentation so they don't get gaslit. Tesla's FSD requires a human to do the full self driving part. Consumer Reports looks at the CyberTruck and they think visibility sucks. Kia gets...

Highlights: The Biden administration's policy on limiting Chinese and Russian vehicle technology to protect U.S. data, and the general challenges in tracing vehicle components' origins. The DHS warns about counterfeit airbags. Anthony calls BS on Sam Altman Michael tells CarMax they are responsible for recalls Fred points out flaws in Torc Robotics and explains GPS This weeks links: https://www.wh...

Waymo goes full PR campaign and gets some "journalists" to write that Waymo is safer than a human... without explaining that Waymo's data is like comparing apples to astronauts. Basically, Waymo is better than the worst human drivers on small subset of roads, at slow speeds in limited conditions. Maybe. IIHS releases a study showing that partial automation is, at best, partially beneficial, DC doe...

We start off this week with California's proposed Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) bill, which aims to warn drivers exceeding speed limits by 10 mph. Next is NHTSA's new safety standards for pedestrian protection and other auto safety innovations. Then, we critique unrealistic claims about autonomous vehicles and highlight a recent investigation into Jeep vehicles catching fire. This weeks links...

Finally, a congressional bill aimed at setting federal standards for hood height and visibility to protect pedestrians. Another failure of partial automation systems like Ford's Blue Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot. Anthony let's loose on the NY Times, Amazon is using bad tech to monitor it's drivers and the recalls galore. This weeks links: https://www.npr.org/2024/08/23/nx-s1-5084276/pedestrian-pro...

This week we are joined by Mike Nelson, chair and founder of QuantivRisk, a risk management and technology company. The discussion focuses on QuantivRisk's innovative approach to analyzing vehicle data and video to objectively assess automotive accidents. This episode covers the challenges of defining and litigating safety in the context of ADAS and autonomous vehicles, particularly the complexity...

A follow up on honking Waymo's Will V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) happen?. The Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium lacks consumer and academic vetting in their recommendations for automated vehicle safety. Software stress testing Recalls from Ford and BMW This weeks links: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/waymo-director-says-the-company-s-cars-won-t-honk-at-each-other-anymore/ar-AA1p7puc ht...

Welcome to the chaos of self-driving Waymo vehicles in San Francisco, Elon Musk's questionable promises on robo taxis, and the potential dangers of autonomous vehicles on highways. We question the AV industry's adherence to ethical practices and discuss the severe consequences of failing lithium-ion batteries. Plus recalls. And get your Takata airbag replaced. This weeks links: https://arstechnica...

Hey Listeners, How do we feel about bullet points? This week we cover topics like... Update on the ARC airbag recall implicating 50 million airbags with defects, leading to potential ruptures; Tesla's reporting on Autopilot crashes and the WSJ's great investigation; Data privacy issues with car companies like GM, who sell user driving data.; The financial math behind the autonomous vehicle industr...

We're off this week. This is repeat of an episode that a lot of people missed. It's a good one. Don't miss. Or any episodes. https://www.autosafety.org/support-us/

The dangers of capacitive controls, seatback safety standards, the nonsense spewing from Elon Musk, the FCC toying with us over V2X and GM Cruise continues to gaslight General Motors. Plus we discuss the importance of robust software testing. This weeks links: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/07/vw-id-4-owners-report-unintended-acceleration-blame-steering-wheel-design/ https://www.nhtsa.gov/press...

Dr. Jonathan Gitlin, senior automotive writer for Ars Technica, joins us this week. Jonathan discusses his career shift, passion for cars, and his experiences test-driving numerous vehicles. This week we delve into the efficacy and ethics of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), Tesla's self-driving claims, and challenges within urban transportation infrastructures. This weeks links: https://...

This week we cover recent controversies surrounding Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology, revealing how manual interventions and YouTuber feedback fuel the myth of advanced AI automation and into the broader issues of automotive safety, discussing open-source software's pitfalls and the potential cybersecurity risks in modern vehicles. Other highlights include varied recalls from manufacturers lik...

This is a rerun. In this episode guests Dr. Jeff Wishart and Phil Koopman explain the history of autonomous vehicles, why safety is really really hard, that human drivers are not bad and that it is pure speculation if a self driving car will ever be safer than a human.

The Auto Industry is once again against safety and is fighting NHTSA on Automatic Emergency Braking rules. Specifically the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and John Bozzella, for claiming new AEB rules are 'impossible' to implement while also admitting that they are in use today. Michael takes apart ARK Investments for their ridiculous take on Telsa and we delve into recalls with another entry...

Waymo issued a recall after a RoboTaxi crash into a telephone pole. We delve into the complexity of validating software updates for autonomous cars and how Waymo is gaslighting us. IISH has a survey showing driver support for anti-speeding technologies. Fred shares safety tips for proper seating in vehicles, emphasizing the importance of seatbelt use and correct seating positions. Plus self drivin...

This weeks we start with rising trends in high-speed police chases resulting in crashes and deaths, emphasizing the need for stricter regulations on when such pursuits should occur. We critique European vs. U.S. safety standards and explore advanced technology such as 'license plate trackers' and police tools for remotely stopping cars. Gaslight section covers criticisms of companies like GM Cruis...

Mississippian Michael Brooks faces the fact that more car crashes happen in the South. But the data is a bit suspect as Massachusetts seems not to live up to it's reputation. Also Japanese automakers Toyota, Mazda, and Honda mishandling vehicle safety tests. This week Fred examines Tesla’s ambitious yet problematic GigaCasting manufacturing process and its implications on vehicle safety and repair...

California is proposing a bill to alert drivers to their speeding. Anthony suggests automatic tickets. Elon doesn't understand data or is flat out lying about the safety of Autopilot. Remote controlled trains remind us of GM Cruise. Miles per Gallon is not as helpful a measure as gallons per 100 miles and we discuss why AV companies don't follow the Department of Transportation's Technology Readin...

Artificial Intelligence is the pet rock of today... if the pet rock could hallucinate a term paper. Or in the case of auto safety cause stockholders to hallucinate a future where Tesla creates a robotaxi. This week Tesla is sued for fraud (clutches pearls) and a Waymo drives drunk through Phoenix. Congress goes after auto makers for handing over all of your data without a subpoena and using slave...

Waymo keeps running into things and now NHTSA is investigating. Fred proposes a graduated licensing process for autonomous vehicles. 60 minutes Australia compiles a list of Elon Musk stating how self driving is ready next year but that next year never comes... maybe he's just a salesman? Tesla's automation software has been involved in 467 crashes, 13 of them fatal... and that is just in a 15 mont...

That scrappy Tesla is still in the news for safety issues. NHTSA has requested more data about their Autopilot recall from December. With over 20 crashes since then there are some questions that need to be answered. And the DOJ and SEC are investigating them about their self driving claims. Drunk driving has been increasing but enforcement has declined. We discuss solutions that are available toda...

NHTSA has finally released a rule for Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB). We've been asking for one since 2015 so... 3 cheers for NHTSA? But the rules don't go into effect until 2029. Ugh. On the plus side IIHS updated their AEB tests and car makers have a lot of work to do. We dive deep into AEB. And will 2024 be the year of the Tesla lawsuits? Maybe they shouldn't sell things with aspirational na...