Articles tagged with "pedestrian-safety"
Low-speed electric car warning sounds confuse pedestrians: Study
A recent study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden has found that the warning sounds used by electric vehicles (EVs) at low speeds, known as Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS), are significantly harder for pedestrians to localize compared to traditional internal combustion engine noises. The research tested three common AVAS sound types—two-tone, multi-tone, and noise-based signals—using 52 participants in a controlled anechoic chamber environment. Results showed that especially the two-tone signals were difficult to pinpoint in direction, with participants often unable to determine how many vehicles were present or where the sounds originated, raising safety concerns in busy areas such as parking lots. Current regulations in Europe, the U.S., and other regions require EVs to emit warning sounds below certain speeds (12 mph in Europe, 18.6 mph in the U.S.) to alert pedestrians, but these rules focus only on detectability rather than the ability to localize the sound. Manufacturers design their own AVAS
energyelectric-vehiclesacoustic-vehicle-alerting-systemspedestrian-safetyartificial-warning-soundssound-localizationautonomous-vehiclesTesla Phantom Braking & Pedestrian Safety Concerns Continue - CleanTechnica
Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, imminently, using a small fleet of Model Ys equipped with its Full Self Driving (FSD) Unsupervised software. However, details about how this software differs from the current FSD version available to owners remain unclear. Tesla’s secretive approach to the robotaxi program has raised skepticism, with critics suspecting the company is trying to avoid public scrutiny of potential failures. Despite Tesla’s claims that its systems are safer than human drivers, incidents involving the technology have sparked safety concerns. Anti-Tesla groups like the Dawn Project and Tesla Takedown recently conducted an experiment highlighting significant safety issues. Using a Model Y with the latest supervised FSD, they demonstrated that the vehicle failed to stop for a stopped school bus with flashing lights and only braked too late to avoid hitting a child-sized cardboard cutout darting into the street. This test was repeated multiple times with consistent failure, raising questions about whether Tesla’s cars are safe
robotautonomous-vehiclesTeslaself-driving-carsrobotaxipedestrian-safetyautomotive-technologyWaymo Robotaxis Are Much Safer — Part Deux
robotWaymorobotaxisautonomous-vehiclestraffic-safetycrash-reductionpedestrian-safety