Blog

Data released by the US auto regulators this week reveals that America saw more than 500 car crashes involving advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) since July 2021. Tesla was responsible for 273 of these crashes.

According to Reuters, US senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) should provide more information on the “out-of-control industry”, rather than just the headline numbers.

However, this is harder than it sounds because every company has different bespoke types of ADAS, and monitor and report performance on their ADAS differently. As such, it is difficult to evaluate the state of the industry with the current information.

In a statement seen by Reuters, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said that the report was a collection of a lot of unclear information that needs to be analysed. For example, Homendy said Tesla may be overrepresented due to the level of data they collect.

“Tesla collects a huge amount of high-quality data, which may mean they’re overrepresented in NHTSA’s release,” said Homendy.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the NHTSA had upgraded its probe into Tesla’s ADAS program called Autopilot. The investigation is based on a dozen crashes in August 2021, where Tesla cars running Autopilot hit stationary emergency vehicles.