New Delhi

According to data made public by American safety regulators, automakers recorded roughly 400 crashes involving vehicles with automated driver-assist systems, that included 273 Teslas.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a warning against using the statistics to contrast different automakers, claiming that they weren't weighted according to the volume of each manufacturer's vehicles employing the systems or their mileage.

From July 2021 to May 15, the crashes were reported. According to CNBC, Autopilot, "full self-driving," traffic aware cruise control, and other driver-assist technologies that have some steering and speed control were all in use when Tesla's vehicles crashed. The systems are in around 830,000 automobiles owned by the corporation.

tesla

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The NTSB released this image of a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor electric car that was involved in a fatal accident near Miami that killed two people on Sept. 13, 2021.

More than 100 automakers and autonomous vehicle technology companies were ordered by the NHTSA in June 2021 to report serious crashes as soon as they become aware of them and to reveal less serious crashes by the 15th day of the following month. The organisation is analysing the systems' functionality to determine whether new restrictions could be required.

As reported by the New York Times, the administrator of the organisation, Steven Cliff, stated that when more data is gathered, "NHTSA will be better equipped to identify any emerging hazards or trends and learn more about how these technologies are operating in the real world."

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Tesla may have a high crash rate because it employs telematics to track its cars and obtain real-time crash information. The NHTSA stated that because other automakers lack this capability, their submissions may be delayed or incomplete.

Nearly 70% of the 392 crashes recorded by the twelve automakers were caused by Tesla. Although the Austin, Texas, carmaker refers to its technologies as Autopilot and "Full Self-Driving," it insists that drivers must always be prepared to take over control of the vehicles. In addition, the NHTSA reported that six people suffered significant injuries and five people died in crashes utilising driver-assist systems.

According to NHTSA, manufacturers were not required to record how many vehicles they have on the road with the devices, how far those vehicles have gone, or when the systems are being used. According to an agency official, those numbers are not currently quantifiable.

NHTSA may, however, later look for such data. In the interim, it is now able to learn about accidents much more quickly than in the past thanks to the additional data. The government stated that it is currently using the crash data to look for trends and discuss them with the companies.

(With inputs from agencies)

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