U.S. opens new probe into 3 million Kia, Hyundai vehicles for fire risks

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it would open a new safety defect investigation into three million Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. vehicles for fires not caused by crashes. read more »

Americans still don't trust self-driving cars, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Half of U.S. adults think automated vehicles are more dangerous than traditional vehicles operated by people, while nearly two-thirds said they would not buy a fully autonomous vehicle, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. read more »

Firefighters Extinguish Burning Bmw I8 By Dropping It Into A Giant Tank Of Water

There was a lot of news regarding electric car fires lately. Given how new and complex some of the technologies underpinning these cars are it's no wonder things can get a bit desperate when something goes wrong.

Firefighters from Breda in the Netherlands had to make a pretty bold move when they were called in to a fire at a local BMW dealership, where a BMW i8 (Plug-In Electric Hybrid) started 'smoking'.

A rather brave dealership employee drove the car out of the building possibly saving the dealership from being damaged and making the job of first responders a fair bit easier. Once the firefighters arrived on scene they decided the best way to deal with the fire was to submerge the whole car in a large tank of water for the following 24 hours. read more »

On Boeing and the Road to Self-Driving Vehicles

In light of the two recent Boeing 737 Max disasters, I’m finding it both ironic and a bit troubling that passenger airlines’ success with automating flights is so often held up as a paradigm for the advent of self-driving vehicles.

OK, so it’s been proven over and over again that we’re all safer flying in a commercial jetliner than driving our cars. I get it. But the Boeing case shows that when big companies rush to outdo the competition, errors in the long chain of events leading to production and rollout can be overlooked not just by manufacturers’ engineers, but by regulators entrusted with our safety. read more »

Eyes on the Road! (Your Car Is Watching)

The automobile, in American life, has long been a hallmark of freedom. A teenager’s first driver’s license offers freedom from Mom and Dad. A new car and the open road bring the freedom to chase the American dream. But as more technology creeps in to help drivers, so, too, will systems that eavesdrop on and monitor them, necessitated not by convenience but by new safety concerns.

The most immediate impetus: concerns about the safe use of driver-assistance options like automatic lane-keeping that still require drivers to pay attention. And when truly autonomous vehicles finally arrive, the consensus among automakers and their suppliers is that new ways will be needed to check on drivers and passengers to make sure they are safe inside. read more »

The Boeing crashes are a cautionary tale about automation

A second fatal airplane accident involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 may have been a case of man vs. machine. The fact that the machine was designed to protect passengers points to a need for rethinking safeguards in an age of increasing automation. read more »