NHTSA investigation found no defects in Tesla’s Autopilot system, concluding self-driving cars still safer than human drivers

Briefing

NHTSA investigation found no defects in Tesla’s Autopilot system, concluding self-driving cars still safer than human drivers

February 8, 2017

Briefing

  • No Defects and Recall – The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded in January 2017 that Tesla’s Autopilot system did not have safety defect at time of Florida incident which killed 40-year-old Joshua Brown, asserting no recall was needed
  • Incident Beyond Detection – Found that May 2016 incident was beyond capabilities of Autopilot and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), where truck was intersecting rather than driving in front of vehicle, which radars would have detected better than existing camera-based system
  • Still Safer – Discovered Tesla’s Autosteer technology, which keeps cars within lanes, crashed 40% less frequently than those without it
  • Method of Investigation – Track-tested Tesla Model S vehicles through different scenarios to check automatic brake system, with team also collecting data from Tesla on how it operates
  • Human-Caused Incidents – Statistics show humans cause 94% of crashes, with more than 30,000 traffic deaths on U.S. roads every year

Accelerator

Sector

Information Technology, Transportation and Logistics

Organization

Tesla Motors Inc., U.S. National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration

Source

Original Publication Date

January 20, 2017

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