Eleven people using vehicles with automated driving systems have died in crashes in the US, between mid-may to September this year. Out of these, 10 accidents involved vehicles made by Tesla. The data was released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlighting such incidents linked to technology. However, the government data hasn’t mentioned whether the vehicles’ semi self-driving technology or the other drivers caused the accidents’ deaths.
The 11th involved a Ford pickup truck. The automaker stated that it determined that the truck was not equipped with its partially self-driving system. The deaths included four crashes involving motorcycles, two in Florida and one each in California and Utah, Forbes reported.
NHTSA maintains a database of such fatal crashes to assess the safety of automated driving systems. The agency has asked all auto and tech companies to report all crashes involving vehicles that can over some driving tasks from people.
Tesla alone has more than 830,000 vehicles on U.S. roads with the systems, according to the Forbes report. At Tesla’s company’s Artificial Intelligence Day in September, CEO Elon Musk suggested that, based on collisions and kilometers traveled, the automaker’s autonomous systems were safer than human drivers. Musk said that it will not be perfect, but the systems are much safer than not using them.
