Wednesday 15 June 2022 09:16 PM Nearly 400 car crashes in the US within ten months were caused by ... trends now
Nearly 400 car crashes in the US within a ten month period were causing by self-driving or driver assistance technology, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report found.
Teslas were involved in the vast majority of those crashes, 273 out of 392, which occurred between July 1, 2021, and May 15 this year and resulted in six deaths and five serious injuries.
Worldwide automobile companies made the disclosures to the NHTSA after the regulator issued an order in June 2021 requiring automakers and tech companies to immediately report all crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicles equipped with automated driving systems being tested on public roads.
Of the remaining amount of crashes involving ADAS technology reported by a dozen automakers, 90 of them involved Hondas and 10 were Subrarus. Ford Motor, General Motors (GM), BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai and Porsche reported fewer than five incidents each.
'These technologies hold great promise to improve safety, but we need to understand how these vehicles are performing in real-world situations,' said NHTSA administration Steven Cliff. 'This will help our investigators quickly identify potential defect trends that emerge.'
The agency advised reporters on Wednesday to urge caution when analyzing the 10-month san data and to avoid drawing conclusions on the safety of ADAS systems or factoring it in comparisons between different automakers. The results do not take the number of cars per brand that are equipped with the advanced technology into account.
'The data may raise more questions than they answer,' Cliff added.
Over the last ten moths, 273 out of 392 total incidents and accident that were caused by driver-assistance technology were reported by Teslas, nearly 70 percent. Honda comes second with 90 incidents, while Subaru trails behind with 10 and other European, American and Asian automakers have fewer than five
Although its reported numbers of incidents and accidents are high, Tesla is also the largest producer of self-driving or assisted-driving vehicles (83,000) that are on the road compared to any other automaker. Pictured: A man reading news on his smartphone while his car is driven by an autopilot
The NHTSA has opened 35 special crash investigations involving Tesla vehicles in which advanced driver assistance systems was suspected of being used. Pictured: A 2019 Tesla Model 3 after a car crash with a police car and Mercedes SUV in Orlando, Florida, in August 2021
The results do not take the number of cars per brand that are equipped with the advanced technology into account.
'The data may raise more questions than they answer,' Cliff added.
Tesla makes up for around 70 percent of the crashes, but Elon Musk's car brand has also produced a larger share of self-driving or assisted-driving vehicles (830,000) that are on the road more than any other automaker.
Ford, GM and BMW have released similar features to its fleets, allowing hands-free driving, but have not met as much success in sales as Tesla. Instead, these car brands have banked on models that are equipped with particular driver-assist features, including lane keeping, which avoids drivers swerving in between lanes, and adaptive cruise control, which helps cars automatically slow down or brake upon detecting traffic ahead.
Japan's Honda told Reuters it had found no defects in the systems and its crash reports were based on unverified customer statements.
No other fuel-based automaker reported more than 10 ADAS crashes during the period other than Subaru. Incidents that take place when an advanced system is engaged within 30 seconds of a crash must be reported within 24 hours to NHTSA.
The agency further revealed its plans to release new data monthly, instead of yearly.
BMW, Ford and GM among other automakers have bank rolled on individualistic driver-assist features, including lane keep and adaptive cruise control rather than develop self-driving or assisted-driving technology. Pictured: A BMW i3 electric model
The agency further revealed its plans to release new data monthly, instead of yearly.
NHTSA also went on to report on Alphabet's self-driving car unit Waymo, which are used as driverless taxis in Arizona. There were 62 crashes reported over the last year, while General Motors' Cruise, used in San Francisco as driverless taxi rides, had 23.
NHTSA said the data has already been used to trigger investigations and recalls and helped inform existing defect probes. The agency did not immediately identify who was at fault in crashes and will release more detailed information on individual incidents later on Wednesday.
The agency said out of 130 crashes reported involving automated driving systems, 108 involved no injuries and one was a serious injury crash.
Tesla, Cruise and Waymo have all been contacted with requests for comment from DailyMail.com.
Meanwhile, General Motors' Cruise (pictured), used in San Francisco as driverless taxi rides, had 23 crashes
NHTSA has been scrutinizing Autopilot and said last week it was upgrading its probe into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with the system, a required step before it could seek a recall.
The regulator had opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the performance of Autopilot after about a dozen crashes in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles
Separately, NHTSA has opened 35 special crash investigations
