US auto safety regulators on Thursday asked Tesla Inc to answer questions about its in-car camera intended to monitor driver awareness as part of a probe into 830,000 Tesla vehicles that employ the carmaker's advanced driver assistance system called Autopilot.
美国汽车安全监管机构对搭载了自动辅助驾驶系统Autopilot的83万辆特斯拉汽车开展调查，要求该公司回应有关其监测驾驶员注意力的车内摄像头的问题。
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is assessing the performance of Autopilot after earlier identifying a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles.
美国国家公路交通安全管理局(NHTSA)正在评估特斯拉Autopilot的性能。此前，NHTSA已经注意到十几起特斯拉汽车与停在路边的应急车辆相撞的事故。
NHTSA's nine-page letter demands Tesla answer questions by Oct. 12 about "the role that the Cabin Camera plays in the enforcement of driver engagement/attentiveness."
NHTSA要求特斯拉在10月12日之前回答有关“车内摄像头在提供驾驶员参与度与注意力方面发挥的作用”的问题。
According to Tesla, the cabin camera - a camera located above the rear view mirror - can determine driver inattentiveness and provide audible alerts to remind the driver to keep their eyes on the road when Autopilot is engaged.
特斯拉称，位于后视镜上方的车内摄像头可以在发现司机注意力不集中时发出警报，提醒司机在使用Autopilot时注意观察路面。
The agency said it wanted an explanation for "design decisions" on driver engagement enforcement, "including the evidence that justifies the period of time that the driver is permitted to have their hands off the steering wheel before receiving a warning."
NHTSA表示，希望特斯拉对驾驶员注意力监测系统的“设计决定”做出解释，“包括提供证据证明允许驾驶员在收到警告前把手离开方向盘的时间段是合理的”。
The regulator is reviewing whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure drivers are paying attention. The agency said in June evidence suggested drivers in most crashes under review had complied with Tesla's alert strategy, raising questions about its effectiveness.
NHTSA正在审查特斯拉车辆是否能够完全确保驾驶员保持注意力集中。该机构在6月份表示，有证据表明，在调查的大多数车祸中，司机都遵守了特斯拉的警报提醒。这引发了对该功能有效性的质疑。
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
特斯拉未回应置评请求。
Consumer Reports said when it evaluated Tesla's driver attention monitoring camera in late 2021 "we found that it wasn't adequate to ensure that the driver was fully paying attention when the driver was using Autopilot and Full Self Driving (FSD) features."
《消费者报告》称，2021年底，在评估特斯拉车内摄像头时，“我们发现，当驾驶员使用Autopilot和全自动驾驶(FSD)功能时，不能确保完全集中注意力。”
The magazine said it "could block the in-cabin camera, and the car wouldn't issue a warning, slow down the car, or shut off the systems."
该杂志称，“对车内摄像头进行遮挡后，车辆不会发出警告、减速或关闭系统。”
In June, Consumer Reports said the company had installed an over-the-air update that issued a warning when the camera is covered while FSD is engaged, but not with Autopilot.
《消费者报告》今年6月报道，特斯拉进行了一次升级，使得使用FSD功能的车辆在摄像头被覆盖时会发出警告，但使用Autopilot时则不能。
Autopilot is intended to enable cars to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within their lane, while FSD enables vehicles to obey traffic signals and make lane changes.
Autopilot旨在实现车辆在固定车道内自动转向、加速和制动，而FSD使车辆能够遵守交通信号并改变车道。
In addition to the defect probe, NHTSA has opened 38 special investigations since 2016 of crashes involving Tesla vehicles and where Autopilot or other advanced systems were suspected of being used. A total of 19 deaths have been reported in those Tesla-related investigations.
除了调查是否存在设计缺陷之外，自2016年以来，NHTSA已经对涉及特斯拉汽车的碰撞事故以及怀疑因使用Autopilot或其他智能系统而产生的事故展开了38项特别调查。其中与特斯拉有关的调查中共报告19人死亡。
Separately, California's state transportation has accused Tesla of falsely advertising the features as providing autonomous vehicle control.
另外，加州交通局指控特斯拉对这些功能进行虚假宣传，称它们能自动控制车辆。
Tesla said in notices filed with the state that were released Thursday that it is seeking a hearing on the complaints and intends to present a defense.
特斯拉在周四公开的、向加州政府提交的声明中表示，特斯拉正在尝试举办听证会，并打算针对指控进行辩护。
