Automakers and tech companies reported more than 500 accidents since June 2021, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an order requiring the information
Automakers and tech companies reported more than 500 accidents since June 2021, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an order requiring the information
Tesla Inc. reports 273 vehicle crashes since July Advanced Driving Assistance SystemMore than any other automaker, according to data from US auto safety regulators released on Wednesday.
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Automakers and tech companies reported more than 500 accidents since June 2021, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued an order requiring the information. Two US senators demand a thorough investigation The “out-of-control industry,” and a US safety board said the data was not standardized, so it was hard to evaluate the performance of each carmaker’s systems.
Car companies are rushing to add driver assistance systems, saying these improve safety by handling certain maneuvers. US regulators are trying to understand the practical impact of the changes. But automakers collect and report data in different ways, which makes it difficult to evaluate system performance.
Democratic senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal told NHTSA in a letter that “merely publicizing the data is not enough. We urge NHTSA to … shed the necessary light on this out-of-control industry and prevent more fatal accidents.” Put a railing for.”
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) President Jennifer Homendy said in a statement, the current report is “a ‘fruit bowl’ of data with many caveats, making it difficult to understand”. “Tesla collects a significant amount of high-quality data, which could mean that they are over-represented in NHTSA’s releases.”
Tesla’s advanced driver assistant software dubbed “full self driving” Confusion has also arisen regarding the capacity of vehicles.
Senators raised concerns about the high number of Tesla crashes. “We are concerned that some drivers today are using technology as a convenience feature and putting themselves and other road users at risk,” Markey and Blumenthal wrote.
NHTSA ordered companies to immediately report all accidents involving vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems being tested on public roads.
Of the 392 such accidents reported by a dozen automakers since July, six have been killed and five seriously injured. Honda Motor identified 90 accidents.
The companies also reported 130 accidents involving the prototype automated driving system, while 108 had no injuries and one serious injury accident.
NHTSA said Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car unit Waymo reported 62 accidents involving automatic driving systems, while General Motors’ Cruise had 23.
Waymo said its accidents were not of high severity and that a third were in manual mode. Airbags deployed in only two accidents.
Cruz said it has driven “millions of miles in one of the most complex urban driving environments because saving lives is our main objective.”
The NTSB reiterates a five-year-old recommendation that NHTSA require automakers to provide standard accident and usage data. It followed a 2016 accident that killed a Tesla driver using the company’s Autopilot system, which, the company’s website says, “enables your car to automatically steer, accelerate and brake within its lane.” But still requires the attention of the driver.
NHTSA said the first batch of data has already been used to trigger investigations and recalls and help inform current defect investigations.
“The data will help our investigators identify potential defect trends,” said NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff, warning the raw number of reported incidents per manufacturer is “insufficient to draw conclusions.”
The agency stressed that crashes are tracked in different ways by different automakers and discouraged comparison in part because there is no comprehensive metric on when each system is widely used.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Honda told Reuters that it did not find any faults in the system and that its crash reports were “based on unverified customer statements to comply with NHTSA’s 24-hour reporting deadline.”
No other automaker reported more than 10 ADAS crashes during this period.
Despite the limitations, NHTSA said the data was necessary to quickly identify potential defects or safety trends. Events that occur when an advanced system is engaged within 30 seconds of the accident must be reported to NHTSA within 24 hours.
The agency plans to release new data monthly.
NHTSA is investigating autopilot and said Last week it was upgrading its investigation into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with the system, a necessary step before it can be recalled., The regulator opened a preliminary assessment to assess Autopilot performance after nearly a dozen accidents in which Tesla vehicles stopped emergency vehicles.
Separately, NHTSA has opened 35 special accident investigations involving Tesla vehicles suspected of using ADAS. Those Tesla investigations have found a total of 14 accident deaths, including the May California crash that killed three people.