The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has completed its investigation into Tesla’s “Passenger Play” feature, which allowed occupants to play video games while the vehicle was in motion. The NHTSA launched the investigation in December 2021, citing concerns that the feature may prove distracting. Tesla modified the gaming service to function only while vehicles were stopped after feeling pressure from federal regulators. The NHTSA has confirmed that it will not be seeking a recall of the 580,000 automobiles it was investigating, but it remains worried about driver distraction during the time that the feature was available.
Despite not having firm rules on how infotainment systems are integrated into the driving experience, federal regulators have often attempted to offer guidance without setting anything in stone. The NHTSA proposed automakers ensure infotainment systems and interior layouts “factor safety and driver distraction-prevention into their designs” in 2014. Ideally, the agency said that vehicles should be made so that drivers cannot “perform inherently distracting secondary tasks” whenever they’re supposed to be driving.
However, the very existence of modern infotainment screens has proven to be more distracting than what came before. There are suspicions that they may be one of the reasons we’ve seen accident rates spike in recent years. Meanwhile, some advanced safety systems appear to create more opportunities for drivers to take an increasingly passive role behind the wheel with regulators starting to recommend them as standard equipment.
The NHTSA should be aware of this conundrum, as it has likewise been running an investigation into the efficacy of Tesla’s Autopilot feature for ages. The Department of Transportation (DOT) had initially narrowed its focus on the automaker over the aggressive way Autopilot was marketed. But it eventually began looking at other companies offering similar systems, which is probably what it should have done, to begin with.
While it’s difficult to say what the correct approach is, the NHTSA seems to be missing the larger issue. Over the last decade, touchscreen-based interfaces have gone from a novelty to ubiquitous, and there’s a wealth of data to support assertions that they’re making everyone more distracted. Focusing on whether or not motorists can play video games while driving doesn’t address the larger issue.
Every automaker under the sun wants to force their customers into utilizing those screens as often as possible so they can leverage new services and features into something profitable. Data capture is also an issue the industry has pivoted toward of late, and companies would prefer to have consumers interfacing with on-board screens (rather than phones) whenever possible.
In conclusion, the NHTSA’s investigation into Tesla’s “Passenger Play” feature highlights the larger issue of infotainment systems and driver distraction. While federal regulators have attempted to offer guidance without setting anything in stone, the very existence of modern infotainment screens has proven to be more distracting than what came before. Automakers should ensure that infotainment systems and interior layouts factor safety and driver distraction-prevention into their designs.
