Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a standing general order requiring identified manufacturers and operators to report accidents involving vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The NHTSA requires these reporting entities (manufacturers and operators) to report these crashes immediately after the impact occurs.
Manufacturers and drivers must fully understand these rules. This blog will discuss the effects of this directive as well as their significance for automotive safety and responsibility. If you have an accident with a car fitted with ADAS, it is crucial to consult a competent lawyer, such as Russell J Berkowitz. For more information, read on as we take a look at everything in depth and give you tips on what to do in case of any legalities that are related to the same.
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Vehicles with Level 2 ADAS can control steering, acceleration, and deceleration. However, these vehicles fall short of full autonomy because they require the human driver to be fully engaged in vehicle operation at all times.
On the other hand, vehicles equipped with Levels 3–5 Automated Driving Systems (ADS) are known as Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). These vehicles can complete the entire dynamic driving task under specific operating conditions. In theory, they do not require a human driver to monitor and supervise the automation system.
Following the general order issued in June 2021, the NHTSA has collected data on accidents involving vehicles with ADAS and ADS. The NHTSA issued two separate reports, one for Level 2 systems and another for Level 3 and higher systems currently under development.
According to the NHTSA, there were 392 crashes involving ADAS reported by 12 manufacturers. Out of these total crashes, Tesla and Honda disclosed the most accidents, with Tesla topping the list. 273 of the 392 accidents involved Tesla vehicles using Autopilot between July 20, 2021, and May 21, 2022.
Following Tesla is Honda, with 90 crashes, followed by Subaru, ranking third with ten reported accidents. Ford disclosed five accidents, Toyota showed four crashes, BMW disclosed three crashes, and General Motors showed only one crash. Other ADAS-equipped vehicles with one reported accident include Aptiv, Hyundai, Lucid, Porsche, and Volkswagen.
Furthermore, only 98 of the 392 crash reports included information about the severity. In 11 of the 98 reported severe crashes, serious injuries or fatalities occurred (six fatal and five serious injuries). Vehicle damage was most common on the front of ADAS-equipped vehicles.
The NHTSA received reports of 130 accidents involving vehicles with ADS between July 2021 and May 15, 2022. These include reports for test vehicles or vehicles included in the AV fleet owned by an operator (not cars for sale to the general public). According to the collected data, Waymo, Transdev, and Cruise had the most ADS crashes.
Waymo disclosed 62 crashes, followed by Transdev Alternative Services with 34, and then Cruise, which reported 23 crashes. Furthermore, there was just one serious injury reported from the 130 crashes. There were no deaths.
The report also shows that 108 of the 130 reported ADS-involved crashes involved collisions with another vehicle. A vulnerable road user was involved in 11 crashes (seven with cyclists, two with motorcycles, and the remaining two with non-motorists). The report shows that vehicle damage was most common in the rear of ADS-equipped vehicles.
Some vehicles with Level 2 ADAS have limited data recording and telemetry capabilities. As a result, manufacturers of these vehicles may only receive consumer reports of the driving automation system involved in a crash outcome. Also, there may be a time delay before the manufacturer becomes aware of the crash (if notified in the first place).
Therefore, Tesla has the highest number of ADAS-related crashes because it collects real-time telematics data from its customers. Other automakers usually have to wait for field reports to arrive before obtaining crash reports, which can sometimes take months. In some cases, they may not receive the crash report at all.
Furthermore, another reason why Tesla has the most ADAS-related crashes may be because it sells more vehicles with Level 2 systems than its competitors. According to studies, approximately 825,970 Tesla vehicles have Autopilot or Full Self-Driving systems.
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The data will help the NHTSA understand how these vehicles equipped with ADAS and ADS perform in real-world situations. However, the agency states the figures are not to be used to draw safety conclusions for the following reasons:
For ADAS or ADS crashes that meet the Standing General Order (SGO) reporting requirements, the reporting entity may have to file multiple reports for a single accident event. These include initial reports, a 10-day follow-up, and any subsequent updates. In addition, more than one entity may report the same crash.
For instance, the General Order may name both the vehicle manufacturer and the Level 2 ADAS equipment supplier. This means that a single crash could generate multiple reports from multiple entities. Consequently, the total number of reports submitted does not equal the number of incidents and is, therefore, not a meaningful measure for assessing safety.
The SGO requires the reporting entities to file an incident report within a specific time frame after receiving notice of a potentially reportable crash. The agency requires the report whether or not the reporting entity has verified or agreed with the information. As a result, initial reports may contain incomplete or unverified information.
Furthermore, the collected data is unnormalized by the number of cars the manufacturer or developer deploys or vehicle miles traveled. Manufacturers have this information but do not currently report it to the NHTSA. Thus, the federal agency cannot use the data to compare safety among manufacturers.
Reporting entities whose vehicles have telemetry capability can provide the agency with real-time information much more quickly. Telematics is the most valuable source of data collection currently used in reporting crash reports subject to the General Order because it provides real-time data.
However, not all manufacturers have vehicles equipped with telematics, and as a result, these manufacturers will have access to less crash data. Therefore, the collected data may not accurately represent all crash events due to variations in data recording and telemetry capabilities.
While the data is helpful, it still lacks the vital information required to determine the safety of these new technologies. As a result, we may need more data to accurately determine whether these new systems make roads safer or make driving more convenient.
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