GM Super-Cruise Feature Raises Concerns From Regulators
November 28 2016 - 4:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Spector
U.S. highway safety regulators raised concerns over General
Motors Co.'s plan to halt semiautonomous vehicles with unresponsive
motorists, the latest push from government officials to police the
development of self-driving cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged the
Detroit auto maker to ensure safety for a forthcoming "Super
Cruise" system feature that will slowly bring vehicles to a stop
when motorists fail to retake control of the wheel, according to a
letter from the agency to GM disclosed on Monday.
"We note that GM indicates that when the driver is unable or
unwilling to take control of the vehicle the system will bring the
vehicle to a stop 'in or near the roadway,'" wrote NHTSA Chief
Counsel Paul Hemmersbaugh in the Nov. 18 letter to GM.
"We urge GM to fully consider the likely operation of the system
it is contemplating and ensure that this fallback solution does not
present an unreasonable risk to safety," Mr. Hemmersbaugh
wrote.
The letter included a footnote emphasizing that federal law
requires recalls for vehicles with safety defects that pose
unreasonable risks for accidents or deaths and injuries in
crashes.
A GM spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment. GM's system, previously set to debut on a Cadillac car
this year, has been delayed until 2017.
Write to Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 28, 2016 16:16 ET (21:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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