Tesla Autopilot now recognizes other vehicles' hazard lights and slows down

A Twitter user shared information about a new update for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. Cars of the brand will be able to recognize the lights of emergency vehicles and avoid collisions

There have been several cases Tesla crashes into emergency vehicles parked while driving with autopilot engaged. Needless to say, this is a big deal. It's such a big problem According to the latest guides for Model 3 and Model Y owners, cars will now be able to recognize hazard lights and slow down accordingly.. 

The manual explains the new feature of the Model 3 and Model Y.

The information comes from the Analytic.eth Twitter account, which claims to have access to the latest version of the manual. So far, I haven't been able to see the manual to confirm the exact wording, and Tesla doesn't have a PR department to confirm or deny this, so take it with a grain of salt. However, making this autopilot software makes sense and the feature has been seen to work on social media.

New in 2021.24.12 User manual for

“If Model3/ModelY detects emergency vehicle lights while using Autosteer at night on a high speed road, the speed will automatically decrease and a message will be displayed on the touch screen to inform you… (1/3)

— Analytic.eth (@Analytic_ETH)

The number of accidents of Tesla cars with active autopilot is growing

As mentioned above, Tesla's Autopilot driver assistance feature has influenced a number of ambulances in the past, including police cruisers and fire trucks. This is a serious enough problem that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating it. According to the agency, such cases since January 11, 2018, as a result of clashes 17 injured and one dead. This purported update is likely in response to this agency action. 

What does Tesla's alleged manual say?

Quoting the user manual, Analytic.eth says: "If the Model3/ModelY detects vehicle hazard lights while using Autosteer at night on a high speed road, the speed will automatically slow down and a message will be displayed on the touch screen informing you that the speed is slowing down. You will also hear a beep and see a reminder to keep your hands on the wheel.».

The tweet goes on to say that once the ambulance is no longer detectable, the vehicle will continue to move normally, however it makes it clear that drivers should "Never rely on the autopilot functions to detect the presence of ambulances. Model3/ModelY may not detect vehicle hazard lights in all situations. Keep your eyes on the road and always be ready for immediate action».

Special update for emergency vehicle detection

The text says that this update is designed specifically to detect emergency vehicles at night, when many collisions have occurred, according to NHTSA. It is worth noting that although the wording of the update has not yet been received from an official source, the update is implemented and operational. A few days ago, a Reddit user on the Telsa Motors subreddit posted a video of this feature working on his Tesla.

However, it doesn't seem to be without problems. Tesla in a linked Reddit video spotted the lights, but the parked police cruiser was not in the visualization of the vehicle's movement. Also, one commenter notes that his car allegedly activated the feature when it detected the hazard lights, but the ambulance itself was on the other side of the divided highway, traveling in the opposite direction.

In this way, there may still be some minor bugs in the system, but the fact that it is supposedly already working is definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully there will be new security updates for Tesla's Autopilot system soon, as well as the rest of the lineup.

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