An investigation has been launched in the US into more than half a million Tesla cars that are equipped with touchscreens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It follows a complaint filed by a user who discovered he could play games while driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into some 580,000 Tesla Models 3, S and X made from 2017 to the current day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tesla has not yet responded to the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The feature under scrutiny is called Passenger Play, and it allows users to play games on their in-car touchscreen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It does warn that playing while in motion is “only for passengers” and asks for confirmation of this before allowing gameplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the NHTSA noted that Passenger Play “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It added that the feature had been available since December 2020. Previously the game feature was only enabled when the vehicle was in Park mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this month the NHTSA reported that 3,142 road deaths in 2019 were attributed to distracted drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guidelines published by the agency in 2013 recommend that in-vehicle devices be designed so that they cannot be used by the driver “to perform inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, Tesla owner Vince Patton from Oregon spotted a video on YouTube which highlighted how Passenger Play could be used by drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After testing it in a car park and finding he could indeed play several games while driving, he filed a complaint with the NHTSA, describing the feature as “recklessly negligent”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for an issue caused by a computer configuration error that allowed drivers to browse the internet or watch television while the cars were moving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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