U.S. regulator orders halt to self-driving school bus test in Florida

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday said it had ordered Transdev North America to immediately stop transporting school children in Florida in a driverless shuttle, as the testing could be putting them at “inappropriate” risk.

Transdev’s use of its EZ10 Generation II driverless shuttle in the Babcock Ranch community in southwest Florida was “unlawful and in violation of the company’s temporary importation authorization,” the auto safety agency, known as NHTSA, said in an order late on Friday.

“Innovation must not come at the risk of public safety,” its deputy administrator, Heidi King, said in a statement. read more »

BMW expands recall on fire risk to 1.6 million diesel vehicles

BMW is recalling about 1.6 million diesel cars worldwide to fix a potential fire hazard in their engines, expanding repairs from just under half a million vehicles in Europe and Asia.

The voluntary service action follows a BMW investigation that found coolant could leak from the car's exhaust recirculation unit. The defect can lead to sparks while driving and cause fires in "in extreme cases," the automaker said Tuesday in a statement. read more »

Drivers have dangerous misconceptions about self-driving cars

People seem to be confused about the difference between autonomous and assisted driving technology, with worrying implications for road safety, says Thatcham Research

Just over 70% of drivers worldwide believe they can go out and buy a fully-autonomous, self-driving car today, according to research commissioned by automotive research consultancy Thatcham Research, Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) and Global NCAP, which has uncovered potentially dangerous levels of confusion over exactly what the current generation of connected vehicles are capable of. read more »

Bosch Must Face RICO Suit Over Chevy Cruze Emissions

Bosch must face an amended proposed class action alleging it schemed with General Motors to install emissions-cheating devices on Chevrolet Cruze diesel vehicles, a Michigan federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying consumers sufficiently backed their Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims. read more »