Road Trip with a Tesla – Day 2: Leaving Las Vegas
Posted on Aug 13, 2016
Just outside of Vegas. We will just stop to refill battery. Nevada allows Level 3 driving while on a highway. Oddly on this section of Route 15, the lanes are not that clearly marked. Charley seems to be struggling a little bit on staying in the center of the lines it is having a hard time seeing. It is also focusing on the car in front of me. Mike Nelson is embarking on a cross-country road trip from Orange County, California to New York City in a Tesla 90D Model S. The Model S is equipped with autopilot and electric all-wheel drive. Mike will share his experiences on the road with...
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Road Trip with a Tesla – Day 2: Travels with Charley
Posted on Aug 13, 2016
Yesterday we started the journey by heading out of Barstow, California at 5:30 pm driving northeast on Route 15. It was not ideal. Traffic on a Friday night in a L.A. rush hour on “the 5” was a bear. This morning is a perfect contrast. Wide open highways. Auto pilot is engaged and doing its thing. We pass other vehicles in the right lane without effort or thought and we are doing a constant 78 mph. All cornering is being managed by Charley, which is what I have named the Model S. Steinbeck fans would probably point out that Charley was a dog, a standard poodle to be exact. ...
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Road Trip with a Tesla – Day 1: Testing out the Tesla
Posted on Aug 12, 2016
Mike Nelson is embarking on a cross-country road trip from Orange County, California to New York City in a Tesla 90D Model S. The Model S is equipped with autopilot and electric all-wheel drive. Mike will share his experiences on the road with autonomous technology with Up to Speed readers in a series of posts. In order to develop a deeper understanding of autonomous vehicles, I decided to buy a Tesla 90D Model S from Tesla’s Costa Mesa, California dealership from Orange County to New York City and drive over the course of a three day trip with my son. We will drive along I-15...
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Tesla Crash in Beijing
Posted on Aug 11, 2016
Telsa has reported that one of its vehicles was involved in collision while in auto pilot mode. The accident took place in Beijing last week when a Tesla model hit a parked car, causing vehicle damage but no injuries. Tesla states the driver’s hands were not detected on the steering wheel. The driver accuses Tesla of advertising the vehicle as “self-driving” instead of an advanced driver assistance system. In the U.S., three previous accidents involving Tesla models in autopilot mode have been reported this year.
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Auto Insurers, Buckle Up — Automated Tech Is Already Here
Posted on Aug 8, 2016
Many auto insurers have developed a false sense of security based on a belief that vehicles with automated driving technology are still several years off, but recent events have demonstrated that the public is buying and driving cars that have a high degree of automation. Auto insurers, whose business models are based on relatively thin profit margins predicated on a fairly high level of predictable loss experience are not prepared for substantial disruptions such as significant and everlasting change in our transportation system. Concepts like “autonomous vehicles” taking over our...
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Recent Accidents Raise Questions About Self-Driving Cars
Posted on Aug 8, 2016
Recent news of accidents involving cars in automated driving mode have provoked numerous questions and speculation concerning the viability of automated driving. There, however, has been limited commentary focused on how these accidents, though unusual with respect to the technology involved, are in fact relatively ordinary. In the case of the recent Tesla Model X crash, it appears as though the other vehicle involved in the accident, a tractor trailer, made an illegal left turn to cross two highway lanes which weren’t clear of oncoming traffic. The truck driver’s potential culpability in...
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NHTSA To Release Automated Driving Guidelines by End of Summer
Posted on Aug 5, 2016
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) recently announced that the organization will release guidelines for vehicles with automated driving technology by the end of the summer. The guidelines will address safety standards to aid manufacturers in the development and roll out of the technology and are also expected to cover performance standards, policy guidelines for state regulation, and an explanation of new tools and authority the NHTSA plans to use in regulating the technology. NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind stated that the rapid development of automated...
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Regulation of Autonomous Vehicles
Posted on Jul 29, 2016
A major issue to be addressed as autonomous vehicles come onto the market is who will regulate them. Traditionally, vehicle safety has been within the purview of federal governments, but states have regulated traffic laws. Some believe that increased uniformity will be required when cars no longer have human drivers; a “patchwork quilt” will be unworkable, they believe. The U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to release guidance on self-driving vehicles this summer, and in doing so, the agency must balance safety and innovation. One administrator suggested that these...
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Insurers Preparing for a World of Autonomous Vehicles
Posted on Jul 28, 2016
When autonomous vehicles become ubiquitous, what will be the need for car insurance? That is the question auto insurers are beginning to face as autonomous vehicle technology promises safer roads and fewer accidents. At least one insurer, State Farm, is participating in research on driverless car equipment through collaboration with automakers and suppliers at the University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center. This research is expected to help State Farm “understand what the risk will look like.” There is not yet much data on the effect truly autonomous vehicles or...
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Cybersecurity Best Practices in the Auto Industry
Posted on Jul 26, 2016
The Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC) has released cybersecurity best practices to protect against risks in the auto industry. Auto-ISAC identified seven functions that cover the various ways in which cybersecurity threats affect the “motor vehicle ecosystem”: governance, risk assessment and management, security by design, threat detection and protection, incident response and recovery, training and awareness, and collaboration and engagement with appropriate third parties. The best practices use a risk-based approach to allow industry members to tailor their...
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Price Optimization: Courts Put Regulators in the Driver’s Seat
Posted on Jul 25, 2016
Earlier this year, courts in California addressed class actions brought by customers claiming to be harmed by their auto insurers’ use of price optimization and big data in setting auto insurance rates. In both cases, the court stayed the class action and deferred to the regulator under the primary jurisdiction doctrine. Because analysis of the insurer’s use of price optimization in setting rates and premiums required a factual inquiry into the technical analysis of rating factors and formulas, both courts determined that the state insurance commissioner was best suited to address the...
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Cybersecurity and Allocation of Liability Are Top Concerns Among Risk Managers
Posted on Jul 21, 2016
A recent survey conducted by Munich Re found that, where autonomous vehicles are involved, the top concern for corporate risk managers is cybersecurity. More than half of the corporate risk managers surveyed (55%) named cybersecurity, which included potential hacks into a vehicle’s data system and the failure of “smart road infrastructure,” as their number one concern. Mike Scrudato, head of Munich Re’s mobility operations, pointed out that there is “no real cyber product being purchased in relation to auto today.” Risk managers were also concerned with how to allocate responsibility...
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Insurers Should Actively Monitor Automated Driving Technology Developments
Posted on Jul 20, 2016
Automated technology will bring both new challenges and new opportunities for insurers. Although insurers may face the challenges associated with a shrinking market where manufacturers absorb more liability risk, insurers also have new opportunities. For example, such opportunities include new and innovative ways to develop joint partnerships, like Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp’s and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance’s joint development of a car insurance product. In addition, insurers can take advantage of new technology innovations and the increased use of sophisticated telematics to help underwrite...
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Parts Supplier Settles Price-Fixing Claims for more than $250M
Posted on Jul 15, 2016
Auto parts supplier Denso Corp. has agreed to pay more than $250 million to settle price-fixing claims in a multi-district litigation. According to settlement documents filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Denso will pay approximately $193.8 million to car buyers and $61.2 million to auto dealers. The settlement ends a lengthy Department of Justice investigation that has resulted in several companies paying more than $2 billion in fines. Danso has issued a statement emphasizing it has taken various preventive measures to ensure compliance with antitrust laws,...
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