Tesla accounted for most fatalities involving advanced driving systems, says US safety body report
A report by US safety authorities reveals Tesla vehicles were involved in 70 per cent of all accidents where advanced driver assistance systems were a factor. However, some have questioned the data.
A damning report has revealed that, since July, 70 per cent of accidents in the US where advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) were a factor involved Tesla vehicles – however, the validity of the data has come into question.
The data – collated by the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) in the US, and reported by Reuters – also shows that of the six fatalities recorded where ADAS was considered a factor, Tesla vehicles accounted for five, or 83 per cent.
The NHTSA started collecting data in June of last year, with car makers voluntarily reporting accidents where advanced and autonomous driving technology were considered a factor.
Of the 392 reported accidents – from 12 manufacturers – since July 2021, Tesla vehicles accounted for 273, or 69.6 per cent.
The stark numbers have prompted two US senators to call for a review into autonomous driving technology, labelling the industry “out of control”.
With car makers adding ever more advanced technologies in a rush towards full autonomy, Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal have urged the NHTSA to “shed needed light on this out-of-control industry and impose guardrails to prevent more deadly crashes”.
But while the current report is damning, in terms of pure numbers, of Tesla, the Chair of the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy, noted the electric car maker’s crash record may not be entirely as it seems.
“Tesla collects a huge amount of quality data, which may mean they’re over-represented in NHTSA’s release,” Homendy said in a statement.
The NHTSA has also noted the data does not take into account the number of vehicles from each brand with the technology, the number on the road, and the distance they’ve travelled – all of which would contribute to Tesla’s result.
The amount and frequency of the data provided by companies also “varies”, according to CNBC.
Nonetheless, Senators Markey and Blumenthal remained concerned at the high number of crashes involving Tesla vehicles where advanced driving systems, such as the brand’s self-styled “Autopilot”, were a factor.
“We worry that some drivers today are using the technology as a convenience feature and are placing themselves and other road users in danger,” Markey and Blumenthal wrote in a letter to the NHTSA.
Of other car makers reporting accidents, Honda accounted for 90 incidents where an ADAS suite was a factor. No other car maker reported more than 10 accidents.
Other manufacturers provided data for 130 crashes involving prototype autonomous driving systems, with Alphabet Inc, parent company of Google, accounting for 62 accidents.
General Motors revealed its Cruise self-driving prototype accounted for 23 crashes. Of the 130 reported accidents, 108 resulted no injuries while only one was classified a “serious injury” accident.
Tesla has long maintained its ‘Autopilot’ system – which in its own words “enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane”, albeit with the driver maintaining attention at all times – is safer than normal driving. Tesla boss CEO Elon Musk has previously said Autopilot is “unequivocally safer”.
Last year, according to the NHTSA, 42,915 people lost their lives on US roads.
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