If it senses emergency lights at night, it will slow down automatically.
Emergency Crash
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently investigated Tesla's self-driving technology. It seems that its cars keep hitting stationary emergency vehicles, even though Autopilot was on. According to the regulator there have been at least 11 accidents since January 2018, resulting in 17 injuries and 1 death.
The electric car company appears to have recognized the problem. A recently published owners manual was spotted by Analytic.eth on Twitter. It states that Tesla made some modifications via an over-the air software update to avoid future collisions with emergency vehicles, at least at night.
Model3/ModelY will detect emergency vehicles when it uses Autosteer at night. The touchscreen displays a message to inform you about the slowdown and reduces the speed.
The document states that you will hear a chime as well as a reminder to keep your fingers on the wheel. Autopilot will resume your normal cruising speed when the light detections cease to exist or pass by.
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Slowing down
Although the documentation is yet to be confirmed by an authorized source, an example video posted last week on the teslamotors subreddit shows the changes in action. A small overlay text informs the driver that Autopilot speed is limited to emergency vehicles.
However, the parked police cruiser didn't appear in the visualisation of the roadway.
It is also not clear why the feature works only at night. It does seem to be a small step in the right direction.
Every bit helps ensure that Tesla drivers, and all drivers sharing the road with them, are safe.
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READ MORE: Tesla Autopilot Now Recognizes Emergency Lights and Reduces Speed: Report [The Drive]
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