The Autopilot feature that’s been trialled in some Tesla cars has become a controversial topic, especially after incidents like one of the vehicles crashing in 2022 and causing three deaths.
Although the company has said that most accidents are due to user error, a new Wall Street Journal investigation has found that this might not be entirely true.
In 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated a fresh investigation following the fatal Tesla accident. The crash happened in Newport Beach, California. The Tesla vehicle reportedly struck a curb and collided with construction equipment.
The incident resulted in the deaths of all three occupants and injured three construction workers, though their injuries were not life-threatening. At the time, local authorities did not confirm whether Tesla’s Autopilot system was in use.
In April, NHTSA released a report analysing numerous accident records and identified a common factor: drivers were overly reliant on the technology and not paying sufficient attention to driving.
The report noted, “Throughout the investigations, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) observed a trend of avoidable crashes involving hazards that would have been visible to an attentive driver.”
Before August 2023, ODI reviewed a total of 956 crashes where Autopilot was alleged to be active. Since 2016, Tesla vehicles using Autopilot have been involved in hundreds of accidents.
Despite this, Tesla has consistently said that its technology is safe. Out of approximately 1,000 crash reports submitted by Tesla, the Journal connected over 200 to state records. Of these, 44 crashes occurred when the vehicle on Autopilot suddenly veered, and 31 when the car failed to stop or yield.
The crash data submitted by Tesla to federal regulators is heavily redacted, but Tesla’s reports were matched with state-collected data. According to the Journal, these findings raise concerns about the safety of Tesla’s camera-based system.
In 2021, NHTSA mandated that automakers report all incidents involving semi-autonomous driving systems. The Journal asserts that much of the data provided by Tesla remains undisclosed, as the company claims it is proprietary information.
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