Driverless Cars Push Regulators to Revisit Reclined-Seat Crash Safety

The rise of purpose-built robotaxis is forcing U.S. safety regulators to revisit a crash problem that ordinary cars have long left unresolved: what happens when passengers ride reclined, sideways or otherwise outside the upright posture assumed by today's tests. Tesla's Cybercab guidance tells riders to keep seat backs no more than 35 degrees from vertical, while federal researchers are studying how automated-vehicle cabins change occupant protection.