this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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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.

(page 4) 50 comments
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Elon needs to take responsibility for their death.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sounds like NHTSA needs a visit from DOGE!

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Every captcha.....can you see the motorcycle? I would be afraid if they wanted all the squares with small babies or maybe just regular folk...can you pick all the hottie's? Which of these are body parts?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

Musk = POS Nazi. Who couldn't care less about people being killed by his shit companies.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Five years ago, you could not have brought this up without Musk simps defending it.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not sure how that's possible considering no one manufactures self-driving cars that I know of. Certainly not Tesla.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Why is self-driving even allowed?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Robots don't get drunk, or distracted, or text, or speed...

Anecdotally, I think the Waymos are more courteous than human drivers. Though waymo seems to be the best ones out so far, idk about the other services.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Don't waymos have remote drivers that take control in unexpected situationsml?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

They have remote drivers that CAN take control in very corner case situations that the software can't handle. The vast majority of driving is don't without humans in the loop.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Humans are terrible drivers. The open question is are self driving cars overall safer than human driven cars. So far the only people talking either don't have data, or have reason cherry pick only parts of the data that make self driving look good. This is the one exception where someone seemingly independent has done analysis - the question is are they unbiased, or are they cherry picking data to make self driving look bad (I'm not familiar with the source so I can't answer that)

Either way more study is needed.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Humans are terrible. The human eyes and brain are good at detecting certain things though that allow a reaction where computer vision, especially only using one method of detection, fails often. There are times when an automated system will prevent a problem before a human could even see it. So far neither is the clear winner, human driving just has a legacy that automation has to beat by a great length and not just be good enough.

On the topic of human drivers, I think most on the road drive reactively and not based on prediction and anticipation. Given the speed and possible detection methods, a well designed automated system should be excelling at this. It costs more and it more complex to design such a thing, so we're getting the bare bones of the best minimum tech can give us right now, which again is not a replacement for all cases.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Because the only thing worse than self driving is human driving.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Because the march of technological advancement is inevitable?

In light of recent (and let's face it, long ago cases) Tesla's "Full Self Driving" needs to be downgraded to level 2 at best.

Level 2: Partial Automation

The vehicle can handle both steering and acceleration/deceleration, but the driver must remain engaged and ready to take control.

Pretty much the same level as other brands self driving feature.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The other brands, such as Audi and VW, work much better than Tesla's system. Their LIDAR systems aren't blinded by fog, and rain the way the Tesla is. Someone recently tested an Audi with its system against a Tesla with its system. The Tesla failed either 3/5 or 4/5 tests. The Audi passed 3/5 or 4/5. Neither system is perfect, but the one that doesn't rely on just cameras is clearly superior.

Edit: it was Mark Rober.

https://youtu.be/IQJL3htsDyQ

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

It's hard to tell, but from about 15 minutes of searching, I was unable to locate any consumer vehicles that include a LIDAR system. Lots of cars include RADAR, for object detection, even multiple RADAR systems for parking. There may be some which includes a TimeOfFlight sensor, which is like LIDAR, but static and lacks the resolution/fidelity. My Mach-E which has level 2 automation uses a combination of computer vision, RADAR and GPS. I was unable to locate a LIDAR sensor for the vehicle.

The LIDAR system in Mark's video is quite clearly a pre-production device that is not affiliated with the vehicle manufacturer it was being tested on.

Adding, after more searching, it looks like the polestar 3, some trim levels of the Audi A8 and the Volvo EX90 include a LiDAR sensor. Curious to see how the consumer grade tech works out in real world.

Please do not mistake this comment as "AI/computer vision" evangelisim. I currently have a car that uses those technologies for automation, and I would not and do not trust my life or anyone else's to that system.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The way I understand it, is that Audi, Volvo, and VW have had the hardware in place for a few years. They are collecting real world data about how we drive before they allow the systems to be used at all. There are also legal issues with liability.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Bribes to local governments and police, mostly.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Because muh freedum, EU are a bunch of commies for not allowing this awesome innovation on their roads

(I fucking love living in the EU)

[–] [email protected] 52 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

This is news? Fortnine talked about it two years ago.
TL;DR Tesla removed LIDAR to save a buck and the cameras see two red dots that the 'puter thinks it's a far away car at night when indeed it's a close motorcycle.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It can't even perceive the depth of the lights?

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's helpful to remember that not everyone has seen the same stories you have. If we want something to change, like regulators not allowing dangerous products, then raising public awareness is important. Expressing surprise that not everyone knows about something can be counterproductive.

Going beyond that, wouldn't the new information here be the statistics?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

like regulators not allowing dangerous products,

I include human drivers in the list of dangerous products I don't want allowed. The question is self driving safer overall (despite possible regressions like this). I don't want regulators to pick favorites. I want them to find "the truth"

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

It could be two motorcycles side by side.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

I had ignored the video, as I didn't expect Mark to expose Tesla

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

as daily rider, i must add having a tesla behind to the list of road hazards to look out

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like that as a driver. Tesla’s do not move at a consistent speed, which drives me mad

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Stop dehumanizing drivers who killed people.
Feature, wrongly called, Full Self-Driving, shall be supervised at any time.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

I think it's important to call out inattentive drivers while also calling out the systems and false advertising that may lead them to become less attentive.

If these systems were marketed as "driver assistance systems" instead of "full self driving", certainly more people would pay attention. The fact that they've been allowed to get away with this blatant false advertising is astonishing.

They're also obviously not adequately monitoring for driver attentiveness.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago

If you’re going to say your car has “full self driving”, it should have that, not “full self driving (but needs monitoring.)” or “full self driving (but it disconnects 2 seconds before impact.)”.

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