Self-Driving Teslas Are Fatally Rear-Ending Motorcyclists More Than Any Other Brand: New Analysis - FuelArc News
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Among motorcyclists, there is a persistent rumor that Teslas are dangerous to ride around in traffic. Whether it’s their silent electric drivetrain, extreme acceleration, or self-driving technology supposedly failing to see motorcycles, every biker seems to know someone who’s had a close call with a Tesla. Our new analysis of data from the NHTSA on […]

TL;DR: Self-Driving Teslas Rear-End Motorcyclists, Killing at Least 5

Brevity is the spirit of wit, and I am just not that witty. This is a long article, here is the gist of it:

  • The NHTSA’s self-driving crash data reveals that Tesla’s self-driving technology is, by far, the most dangerous for motorcyclists, with five fatal crashes that we know of.
  • This issue is unique to Tesla. Other self-driving manufacturers have logged zero motorcycle fatalities with the NHTSA in the same time frame.
  • The crashes are overwhelmingly Teslas rear-ending motorcyclists.

Read our full analysis as we go case-by-case and connect the heavily redacted government data to news reports and police documents.

Oh, and read our thoughts about what this means for the robotaxi launch that is slated for Austin in less than 60 days.

  • KayLeadfoot@fedia.ioOP
    1·
    19 days ago

    Accurate.

    Each fatality I found where a Tesla kills a motorcyclist is a cascade of 3 failures.

    1. The car’s cameras don’t detect the biker, or it just doesn’t stop for some reason.
    2. The driver isn’t paying attention to detect the system failure.
    3. The Tesla’s driver alertness tech fails to detect that the driver isn’t paying attention.

    Taking out the driver will make this already-unacceptably-lethal system even more lethal.

    • br3d@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      18 days ago

      There’s at least two steps before those three:

      -1. Society has been built around the needs of the auto industry, locking people into car dependency

      1. A legal system exists in which the people who build, sell and drive cars are not meaningfully liable when the car hurts somebody
    • jonne@infosec.pubEnglish
      1·
      19 days ago
      1. Self-driving turns itself off seconds before a crash, giving the driver an impossibly short timespan to rectify the situation.