Articles by Hyunjoo Jin and David Shepardson

Tesla Auto Caught Fire During Driving, Lawyer Alleges

A Tesla Inc. Model S Plaid electric vehicle burst into flames on Tuesday while the owner was driving, just three days after the $129,900, top-of-the-range car was delivered following its June launch, an attorney for the driver told Reuters. The …

FAA Makes It Easier for Staff Overseeing Manufacturers to Report Safety Concerns

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it has launched a program to help make it easier for staff overseeing Boeing and other airplane manufacturers to report safety concerns. An independent survey released in August found FAA safety employees …

Safety Agency Pursuing 30 Investigations Into Tesla Crashes

U.S. auto safety regulators said on Thursday they have opened 30 investigations into Tesla crashes involving 10 deaths since 2016 where advanced driver assistance systems were suspected of use. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a list offering …

Top Aviation Safety Official to Leave FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) top safety official said Wednesday he will step down effective June 30. Ali Bahrami, the FAA’s associate administrator for aviation safety since July 2017, had faced criticism from some U.S. lawmakers and family members of …

Groups Oppose Key Spectrum Shift From Auto Safety to Wireless Devices

Two prominent transportation advocacy groups on Wednesday challenged the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) November decision to shift much of a key spectrum block set aside for auto safety to accommodate the burgeoning number of wireless devices. The Intelligent Transportation Society …

U.S. Says Rules on Pilots’ Records Database Being Finalized

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it is finalizing rules establishing a long-delayed electronic pilot records database demanded by Congress in 2010 in the wake of a fatal crash. In March, the FAA published proposed rules to establish a new …

Labor Leader Urges U.S. to Require Human Drivers in Automated Vehicles

A senior American labor union leader will tell U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the government should require human operators in all self-driving passenger services to take over in the event of an emergency. Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades …

U.S. Announces Safety Investigation of Steering Loss in 1.1M Honda Accords

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Monday it was opening a formal safety probe into more than 1.1 million Honda Accord vehicles over sudden loss of steering control reports. The agency said the engineering analysis covers 2013 through …

Senators File Bill to Mandate Driver Monitoring Systems

Three Democratic U.S. senators on Monday said they are introducing legislation that would require U.S. regulators to mandate installation of driver-monitoring systems to ensure motorists pay attention while using systems like Tesla’s Autopilot. Senators Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal and Amy …

Citing China, Senators Bid to Accelerate U.S. Self-Driving Vehicle Industry

Two U.S. senators are working to attach legislation to allow automakers to deploy tens of thousands of self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads to a bipartisan China bill, a significant reform that could help speed the commercial use of automated vehicles. …