Tesla's autonomous driving system appears to be the most dangerous self-driving system in the US alone.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released its first batch of data for semi-autonomous driving technology, stating that Tesla vehicles that have their advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) engaged have caused the most vehicular accidents of all the vehicles that have one.
The NHTSA previously escalated its investigation of Tesla's ADAS to an Engineering Analysis to see if it is "defective" in early June.
NHTSA Report Details
The NHTSA mentioned in its report that it had linked 392 crashes to partial self-driving and driver assistance systems in the ten months between July 1, 2021, and May 15, 2022.
Of the 392 crashes linked to partial self-driving and driver assistance systems, 70%, or 392 crashes are attributed to tesla vehicles using Autopilot or the company's Full Self-Driving feature, which is still in beta mode.
Of the 392 crashes under Tesla's proverbial belt, five of them were fatal. These five include the one that happened in 2019 that killed two people, per NBC.
The crashes that happened in Texas in April 2021 that killed two people, and the one in May 2022 that killed three people, per Tech Crunch, are also included.
Meanwhile, Honda cars have the second most dangerous self-driving system or driver assistance system, with the NHTSA finding that Honda cars that have their ADAS engaged have caused 90 crashes within the period covered.
Furthermore, Subaru's self-driving system was found to be the third most dangerous, while Ford, Toyota, and BMW's self-driving capable cars are the fourth, fifth, and sixth most dangerous, respectively.
Ford's self-driving system caused five accidents, while Toyota and BMW's self-driving system caused four and three crashes, individually.
The NHTSA also noted that 98 crashes happened within the period covered, with them having injury reports. Of the 98 crashes, 11 resulted in serious injuries.
NHTSA's Caution
The findings of the NHTSA's report are a response to a Standing General Order that requires indentified manufacturers and operators to report certain crashes involving vehicles equipped with automated driving systems or SAE Level 2 ADAS.
The order allows the NHTSA to acquire "timely and transparent" notification of real-world crashes associated with advanced driver support and level 2 ADAS from manufacturers and operators to help it raise safety concerns about them through further investigation and enforcement.
Should the NHTSA find a safety defect, it will take action to ensure unsafe vehicles are taken off public roads or remedied, as appropriate.
However, NHTSA head Steven Cliff mentioned that the data presented in the report doesn't offer any conclusions themselves, stating that Tesla vehicles may have had the most crashes because they are some of the most common semi-autonomous cars, per Engadget.
Additionally, Ford, GM, and other car manufacturers have equivalents to Tesla's FSD, but they're frequently optional and simply rarer to encounter one on the road.
