What We’re Reading
Tesla Autopilot and similar automated driving systems get ‘poor’ rating from prominent safety group (CNN Business, March 12, 2024)
Adding fuel to growing consumer skepticism over automated driving, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently offered a less than glowing review of the current state of advanced driver assistance systems. After testing 14 such systems, the IIHS awarded 11 “poor” ratings to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD, as well as hands-free highway driving systems from Ford and Nissan among others. General Motors’ hands-free system, Super Cruise, was rated as “marginal.” Lexus’s Teammate with Advanced Drive system was the only system to receive an “acceptable” rating, which is still one step below the agency’s highest possible rating of “good.”
“Some drivers may feel that partial automation makes long drives easier, but there is little evidence it makes driving safer,” Insurance Institute president David Harkey said in a statement. “As many high-profile crashes have illustrated, it can introduce new risks when systems lack appropriate safeguards.”
Tesla’s going back to court over Autopilot’s role in the deadly 2018 crash (The Verge, March 11, 2024)
A fatal Tesla crash on Autopilot that resulted in the death of Wei “Walter” Huang in March of 2018 is going trial. While Tesla has won all similar cases in the past, this case has new evidence that could help the Plaintiff. Huang died after his Tesla Model X crashed into a safety barrier on US Highway 101 in Mountain View, California while in Autopilot.
Huang’s family sued Tesla for wrongful death in 2019, alleging the vehicle did not have proper safety features, like automatic braking. In a 2016 email, former Tesla president Jon McNeil stated, “I got so comfortable under Autopilot, that I ended up blowing by exists because I was immersed in emails or calls.”
The trial is set to begin on April 8th in a San Jose court with new evidence. This also will be the first case over the issue after the 2 million vehicle Tesla recall over Autopilot.
Latest Data Show Continued Increase in Electric Vehicle Collision Claims (Claims Journal, March 8, 2024)
According to a recent trend report from Mitchell International Inc., EV collision claims increased more than 40% last year in the US and Canada. This record increase included an interesting substantial rise in claim severity in Canada.
“Not only did the frequency of EV collision claims rise to historic levels but the U.S. also surpassed 1.2 million in new EV sales for the first time ever,” said Ryan Mandell, Mitchell’s director of claims performance. “As long as consumer adoption remains strong, EVs will continue to have a significant impact on the auto insurance industry—creating challenges for everything from underwriting to the delivery of proper and safe repairs,” Mandell added.