Tesla leads in driver-assisted technology crashes: U.S. data
The Hindu
Automakers and tech companies reported more than 500 crashes since June 2021, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an order requiring the information
Tesla Inc reported 273 vehicle crashes since July involving advanced driving assistance systems, more than any other automaker, according to data U.S. auto safety regulators released on Wednesday.
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Automakers and tech companies reported more than 500 crashes since June 2021, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued an order requiring the information. Two U.S. Senators called for a deeper probe of the "out-of-control industry," and a U.S. safety board said the data was not standardised so it was hard to evaluate performance of each carmaker's system.
Car companies are rushing to add driver assistance systems, saying these improve safety by handling some manoeuvers. U.S. regulators are trying to understand the practical effect of the changes. But automakers collect and report data in different ways, making it difficult to evaluate systems performance.
Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal told NHTSA in a letter that "publicising the data alone is not enough. We urge NHTSA to ... shed needed light on this out-of-control industry and impose guardrails to prevent more deadly crashes."
The current report contains "a ‘fruit bowl’ of data with a lot of caveats, making it difficult" to understand, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a statement. "Tesla collects a huge amount of high-quality data, which may mean they’re overrepresented in NHTSA’s release."
Tesla's advanced driver assistant software dubbed "Full Self Driving" has also created confusion about vehicle capabilities.