NTSB: Tesla Booted From Crash Investigation For Not Following Rules
Tesla vehicles sit parked outside of a new Tesla showroom and service center in Red Hook, Brooklyn in 2016.
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Updated at 3 a.m. ET
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is looking into the fatal crash last month of an SUV using Tesla’s Autopilot system, said it is removing the high-tech automaker from the probe for improperly disclosing details of the investigation.
Tesla says it withdrew from the investigation.
The NTSB is examining last month’s crash of a 2017 Tesla Model X near Mountain View, Calif. The vehicle crashed into a concrete lane divider, killing the driver, Walter Huang.
Earlier this week, Tesla blamed Huang for the accident, which the NTSB contends runs counter to agency protocols.
As Bloomberg notes, “The NTSB guards the integrity of its investigations closely, demanding that participants adhere to rules about what information they can release and their expected cooperation. These so-called parties to investigations must sign legal agreements laying out their responsibilities.”
“Tesla violated the party agreement by releasing investigative information before it was vetted and confirmed by the NTSB,” the agency said in a statement. “Such releases of incomplete information often lead to speculation and incorrect assumptions about the probable cause of a crash.”
“It is unfortunate that Tesla, by its actions, did not abide by the party agreement,” said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt. “We decided to revoke Tesla’s party status and informed Mr. Musk in a phone call last evening and via letter today. While we understand the demand for information that parties face during an NTSB investigation, uncoordinated releases of incomplete information do not further transportation safety or serve the public interest.”
In a statement emailed to NPR, a Tesla spokesperson said the company decided to withdraw from the agreement of its own accord.
“Last week, in a conversation with the NTSB, we were told that if we made additional statements before their 12-24 month investigative process is complete, we would no longer be a party to the investigation agreement. On Tuesday, we chose to withdraw from the agreement and issued a statement to correct misleading claims that had been made about Autopilot — claims which made it seem as though Autopilot creates safety problems when the opposite is true,” the statement said.
“It’s been clear in our conversations with the NTSB that they’re more concerned with press headlines than actually promoting safety,” Tesla said. “Among other things, they repeatedly released partial bits of incomplete information to the media in violation of their own rules, at the same time that they were trying to prevent us from telling all the facts.”
As The Wall Street Journal writes:
“Removals from NTSB party agreements are rare. The agency in 2014 revoked party status for United Parcel Service Inc. and a pilots union in the probe of a crash of one of the package-delivery company’s cargo planes after public comments were made by each side about circumstances surrounding the accident.
For Tesla, a departure from the NTSB agreement risks diminishing the car maker’s influence over and insight into an investigation that could ultimately reach critical conclusions about one of the company’s signature products.”
Today in Movie Culture: The Science of Space Battles, the Noises of Jeff Goldblum and More
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Movie Science of the Day:
In the latest edition of Because Science, Kyle Hill explains why space wars in such movies as Star Wars and Star Trek are all wrong:
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Franchise Recap of the Day:
We’re getting very close to the release of Avengers: Infinity War, so here’s a final countdown celebration of the MCU before we get the epic new movie (via /Film):
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Movie Year of the Day:
See how many movies from 1988 you can identify in this awesome poster that’s part of the new 30 Years Later (1988) show at Gallery 1988:
This print from Raphael Kelly is incredible! Do you know what all the outfits are from? What 1988 movies are represented? See this, and each individually outfit as an original piece, online here: https://t.co/9Gste8YMUxpic.twitter.com/oJkRq8kdYx
— Gallery1988 (@Galleries1988) April 11, 2018
Video Essay of the Day:
For anyone who had trouble understanding Annihilation, Storytellers explores the psychology of the new Alex Garland movie:
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Actor in the Spotlight:
This compilation of Jeff Goldblum making non-verbal noises in all his movies is music to our ears:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Saoirse Ronan, who turns 24 today, receives direction from Joe Wright on the set of Atonement in 2006:
Film History of the Day:
Vox chronicles how the Catholic Church influenced the censorship of Hollywood movies for decades:
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Movie Comparison of the Day:
Check out scenes of Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy next to concert film footage of Vicious in this video by Dimitreze:
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Cosplay of the Day:
Mineralblu unleased its video compilling the best cosplay at the Fan Expo Dallas 2018, including tributes to Space Jam, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Black Panther and It:
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Classic Trailer of the Day:
This weekend is the 30th anniversary of the release of Dennis Hopper’s Colors. Watch the original trailer for the classic drama below.
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G.H. Hat – Sukiyaki
“The production value of this song is truly spectacular.” by Andrew G.H. Hat is a driven and diverse artist with a unique approach to his blend of electrifying electronic grooves and crisp pop vibes. His…
Baseball Player Shohei Ohtani Is The Talk Of Fans As MLB Season Gets Started
The most talked about baseball player so far this season is Los Angeles Angel Shohei Ohtani. He’s electrified people with his pitching and hitting. It’s an unusual talent to be good at both. But how rare is it?
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
To baseball news now and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who is the talk of this young baseball season. The 23-year-old Japanese phenom is winning as a pitcher and smashing home runs as a designated hitter. He has electrified fans and drawn comparisons to baseball’s most famous so called two-way player Babe Ruth. NPR’s Tom Goldman looks at whether Ohtani’s success could lead to making the two-way player a more common sight in the game.
TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: In fact, it’s quite common at lower levels of baseball. You can still go to any high school around the country and see players pitching one day, then playing a position and hitting the next. Although less common, you can find it in college, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF BASEBALL CATCH)
GOLDMAN: With a hiss and a pop, Kenyon Yovan delivers one of his 90-plus mile an hour fastballs. It’s a practice day this week at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Yovan is a 20-year-old sophomore starting pitcher and designated hitter. So after he finishes throwing, Yovan heads to batting practice.
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GOLDMAN: After this, he goes back to pitching, working on arm care and conditioning. Yovan says the extra time he spends focusing on two different essential baseball skills is worth the effort.
KENYON YOVAN: Being able to help my team in both aspects of the game are definitely the key that I always look for when I play. And the feeling of always being on the field is amazing.
GOLDMAN: He has a receptive head coach at Oregon in George Horton, who also has another full-time, two-way player – a shortstop who pitches. Horton, a baseball lifer who’s coached for 40 years, says in many college programs, there are practical advantages to having two-way players like his.
GEORGE HORTON: And so if we can double up – having them both hit, play positions and pitch – then it stretches our scholarship dollar out and our quality of depth out.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOEY MCMURRY: One ball, two strikes.
GOLDMAN: Yovan has made his coach’s decision easier by performing well on the mound and at the plate, as heard on the Oregon IMG Sports Network with announcer Joey Mac.
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MCMURRY: One-zero to Yovan.
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MCMURRY: He belts it into left field – at the wall, out of here.
GOLDMAN: Kenyon Yovan wants to be a major leaguer. From college through the minors to the majors, it’s a long shot. Coach George Horton says at the beginning of that process, big league teams traditionally have made the decision to turn two-way players into either-or.
HORTON: Asking them to do two things makes the odds probably more astronomical. And so they really want to protect their interest by investing in what side of the ball they think that young man has the best chance to succeed.
GOLDMAN: Horton thinks Ohtani’s success with the Angels in the major leagues might make teams take a closer look at two-way players. He doesn’t think there will be a lot because it’s so hard to master the dual role. But former major leaguer Rick Ankiel is bullish on a potential Ohtani effect. Ankiel pitched and played outfield during his career, although not at the same time. He says it should be a great moment for two-way players because baseball is demanding less from its pitchers.
RICK ANKIEL: My guys are getting pulled out in the fifth inning with a hundred pitches, and the bullpen takes over. So if you are – had a concern about maybe it’s going to be too many throws, and then we – you know, do we DH him the next day? Do we play him in the field the next day?
GOLDMAN: Ankiel says that concern shouldn’t be as great the way the game is trending. The Angels are being careful with Shohei Ohtani, resting him on days before and after he pitches. But in the true two-way spirit, he appears to be tugging against the restraints. After driving in a run in last night’s Angels’ win, he told reporters he wants to play even more. Tom Goldman, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF VINCE GUARALDI TRIO’S “BASEBALL THEME”)
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Male OB-GYNs Are Rare, But Is That A Problem?
Dr. Katie Merriam, an OB-GYN resident in Charlotte, N.C., says she loves her mostly female work environment but also appreciates having male colleagues.
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As she leaves a 12-hour-day on the labor and delivery shift, Dr. Katie Merriam turns off her pager.
“I don’t know what I’d do without it, you know? It’s another limb. I always know where it is,” she says, laughing.
The third-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the Carolinas Medical Center hospital in Charlotte, N.C., works in a medical specialty dominated by women, treating women. Merriam says she feels a special connection to her patients.
“You just, you can feel what they feel and understand why they feel certain ways. I do feel a special bond,” she says.
Nationally, 82 percent of doctors matching into OB-GYN residency programs are women. Many OB-GYN patients say they prefer female doctors. Merriam’s residency class is a bit of an anomaly — half of its members are men. Though it’s nice to work with so many women, Merriam says, she and some of her female colleagues also like the perspective that men bring to the work environment.
“No one could really pinpoint about what balance they bring, but there’s something nice about having them,” she says.
It’s important to have men in the field, she says, if only to continue to give patients options in their choice of providers. But most of her friends and other women she talks to, she says, want female doctors.
Blake Butterworth, a fourth-year obstetrics and gynecology resident at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, says he doesn’t take it personally when he hears that sort of thing from a patient.
“I don’t get discouraged; I don’t get offended,” Butterworth says. “I gladly hand that patient off.”
He’s one of only two male residents in the program of 24 at MUSC and says he finds it rewarding when he can win a new patient’s confidence.
“I have patients that clearly express disdain to have to see a guy,” he says. “Then I develop rapport with her. And she says, ‘I expected you to be X-Y-Z, and you were better than that.’ “
Butterworth says he chose obstetrics and gynecology because it lets him develop long-term relationships with patients — providing routine OB-GYN care and more complicated surgeries if need be.
“Once you really get into it, and get involved in it, I don’t think that bias [that the field is best left to women] holds true,” he says.
Butterworth believes it is incumbent on male OB-GYNs to talk to male medical students about the benefits of having men in the field. Students need to know it’s OK to have an interest in the field, he says, and that they will find work.
In fact, says Dr. Ashlyn Savage, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at MUSC, it may be the opposite.
“In an effort to really diversify the applicant pool, we will apply in some cases different screening standards to decide who we are going to interview,” Savage says. “For example, we might consider an applicant with a slightly lower board score — just to enhance how many men we are interviewing and considering.”
It has been a challenge to find male OB-GYNs for the program, she says. The gender that at one time dominated the field is now at some schools considered a diversity hire. But Savage questions whether balancing the number of men and women in the specialty is as important as racial or ethnic diversity.
“The interesting thing to me is the primary motivation to [seek a diverse candidate pool] is so that patients have the opportunity to seek out physicians who might … feel like themselves,” she says. “In this particular case … all of the patients for OB-GYNs are women.”
Among practicing OB-GYNs in the U.S., a little fewer than half are men, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But ACOG predicts that 10 years from now, two-thirds of the doctors in that specialty will be female.
Still, male doctors hold a lot of the key positions in OB-GYN professional organizations.
“Leadership tends to be held by people who are older,” Savage says. “And we are still in a scenario where [more of] our older faculty tend to be men.”
A study published last fall found that women are underrepresented in leadership roles in medical school departments of obstetrics and gynecology all around the country. That ratio was most lopsided in men’s favor in the South.
It’s perhaps only a matter of time before that, too, changes. Savage says she just learned that her program’s incoming class of OB-GYN residents next year will be all female.
This story is part of NPR’s reporting partnership with WFAE andKaiser Health News.
