NHTSA data shows that more people have been hurt or killed in crashes involving driver-assistance technology since Tesla started using Full Self-Driving technology in more cars. The Washington Post looked at NHTSA data and found that Autopilot was a factor in 736 accidents since 2019, including 17 deaths. Because of a long-standing worry, the NHTSA is looking into how Autopilot technology works with stopped emergency cars. The Washington Post looked at data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and found that Tesla’s Autopilot software has been linked to more deaths and injuries than was previously thought. Since 2019, 17 people have died, and 736 people have been hurt in crashes where Autopilot was used. The NHTSA says that Tesla Autopilot is “an SAE Level 2 driving automation system designed to support and assist the driver in performing the driving task.” Even though Autopilot is not an autonomous driving system, some people use it that way, sometimes with tragic results, according to the most recent data. In a recent conversation with the Associated Press, Pete Buttigieg, who is in charge of transportation, said that the name is unclear. “I don’t think something should be called an Autopilot if the fine print says you have to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road at all times,” he said. Only three deaths were linked in June 2022, when the NHTSA last shared information about incidents involving Autopilot. Seventeen people have died in less than a year, with 11 of those deaths happening since May 2022. The Washington Post says that the rise in accidents occurred when Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software went from being in about 12,000 cars to being in over 400,000 vehicles in just over a year. The 2022 fourth-quarter quarterly update called the rollout “an important milestone for our company.” It said that “every customer in the United States and Canada can now access FSD Beta functionality upon purchase or subscription and start experiencing the evolution of AI-powered autonomy.” 830,000 Teslas are being looked into. Since 2021, the NHTSA has kept detailed records of accidents involving driver-assistance devices. Almost all of the 807 crashes in this data set were caused by the technology involved in a Tesla car. With 23 points, Subaru came in second. The Post found out that of the 17 deaths linked to Tesla, four involved motorbikes, and one involved an emergency car. In April 2021, the NHTSA asked Tesla for information “about recent crashes involving emergency vehicles and incidents involving drivers who were not paying attention,” in addition to details about Autopilot. The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) told Tesla on August 18, 2022, that it had moved its investigation from a Preliminary Evaluation to an Engineering Analysis because of ongoing worries about Autopilot’s ability to find and respond to stopped emergency vehicles. From 2014 to 2022, the Model Y, Model X, Model S, and Model 3 are being looked into, and it is thought that about 830,000 vehicles will be impacted. A spokesperson for Tesla, Veronica Morales, said that the NHTSA is looking into Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. However, she wouldn’t know anything about the probe because it’s still happening. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns the general public that all modern driver assistance technologies require constant human involvement and control.” Because of this, all state rules hold human drivers responsible for how their cars work. The Post also talked to experts who said that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s changes, like taking radar cameras out of the Model 3 and Model Y in 2021 and the Model S and Model X in 2022, may be to blame for the rise in Autopilot-related crashes right now. The Post asked Tesla and Elon Musk for their thoughts, but neither replied.
