US safety inspectors disclosed figures on almost 400 accidents involving cars with partly automated driver-assist systems during a 10-month period on Wednesday, including 273 with Tesla vehicles. Because the NHTSA didn’t account for the number of cars or kilometers driven by each manufacturer’s vehicles utilizing the systems, it advised against using the figures to compare manufacturers.
According to an instruction from the agency, automakers reported incidents from July of last year by May 15 of this year. The government is now investigating such crashes in broad terms for the first time ever.Autopilot, “Full Self-Driving,” Traffic Aware Cruise Control or any other driver-assist technologies that have some influence over speed and direction were all involved in Tesla’s accidents. About 830,000 of the company’s cars are equipped with the equipment.
Next in line was Honda, which recorded 90 accidents out of a dozen manufacturers. About six million Honda cars in the United States are equipped with similar technologies, the company claims. All other manufacturers had five or less recalls, with the exception of Subaru, which had ten. An order issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in June 2021 mandated that more than 100 automakers and autonomous vehicle technology businesses must report major collisions within one day and reveal less serious events by the 15th day of the following month. Current systems are being evaluated to see whether or not they need any additional rules.
Six deaths and five grave injuries
NHTSA reported that six persons were killed and five others were badly injured in collisions utilizing driver-assist devices. A total of six people have died, five in Teslas and one at the hands of a Ford. One each from Honda and Ford was recorded among the three critical injuries.
Using telematics to monitor its cars and get real-time accident data, Tesla may seem to have a higher number of crashes. According to NHTSA, other manufacturers lack this technology, and as a result, their accident reports may be delayed or incomplete. Tesla has been contacted for comment and has left a message.
Almost 70% of the 392 accidents recorded by the twelve manufacturers were from Tesla. Despite the fact that the Austin, Texas-based manufacturer refers to its technologies as “Full Self-Driving,” it insists that drivers remain in control of their cars at all times.
Automobile safety advocates say driver-assist and self-driving technologies have the promise to save lives, but only if the NHTSA establishes baseline performance requirements and mandates safety upgrades for the benefit of all users.
