On 2nd May evening, Tesla announced a new safety feature that adds two active safety features that work whether or not Autopilot is activated or even installed on the car. The company has sent updates to vehicles immediately.
The first is the Lane Departure Avoidance, which appears to pack the functionality of modern active lane-keep assist systems.
If a driver’s hands are not detected on the wheel, the driver will receive a series of hands-on reminders and alerts, similar to the ones that our cars provide to customers who use Autopilot – Tesla blog post
The second feature is Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance. The silent protector steps in if the system detects that the vehicle is drifting out of the lane with the application of corrective steering to keep the vehicle in the lane. The result is the same: the car gently guides itself back into the center of the lane. Unlike the non-Emergency flavor, this one is turned on at the start of every drive, and disabling it only works for the length of that trip.
Tesla’s safety data indicates that these types of features may be useful for preventing accidents when Autopilot is not in use. Thus keeping people safe is the primary goal of the company.
