NHTSA: 10 more fatal crashes linked to Tesla's automated driving tech

The National Highway Safety Administration released new data indicating that 10 people were killed in the United States in crashes involving vehicles that were using automated driving systems. The crashes all took place during a four-month period earlier this year between mid-May and September of this year.

Each of the 10 deaths involved vehicles made by Tesla, though it is unclear from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's data whether the technology itself was at fault or whether driver error might have been responsible. An 11th fatal crash appears in the data involving a Ford pickup truck, but it was later found that Ford reported the incident too quickly and that the pickup was not actually equipped with the automaker's partial self-driving tech.

The 10 deaths included four crashes involving motorcycles that occurred during the spring and summer. Two fatalities happened in Florida and one each in California and Utah. Safety advocates note that the deaths of motorcyclists in crashes involving Tesla vehicles using automated driver-assist systems such as Autopilot have been increasing.

Tesla alone has more than 830,000 vehicles on U.S. roads with the systems. The agency is requiring auto and tech companies to report all crashes involving self-driving vehicles as well as autos with driver assist systems that can take over some driving tasks from people.

The new fatal crashes are documented in a database that NHTSA is building in an effort to broadly assess the safety of automated driving systems, which, led by Tesla, have been growing in use. Previous figures from an earlier period were released in June showing that six people died in crashes involving the automated systems, and five were seriously hurt. Of the deaths, five occurred in Teslas and one a Ford. In each case, the database says that advanced driver assist systems were in use at the time of the crash.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said he is baffled by NHTSA's continued investigations and by what he called a general lack of action since problems with Autopilot began surfacing back in 2016.

“I think there's a pretty clear pattern of bad behavior on the part of Tesla when it comes to obeying the edicts of the (federal) safety act, and NHTSA is just sitting there,” he said. “How many more deaths do we need to see of motorcyclists?”

Brooks noted that the Tesla crashes are victimizing more people who are not in the Tesla vehicles.

“You're seeing innocent people who had no choice in the matter being killed or injured,” he said.

A message was left Tuesday seeking a response from NHTSA.

Tesla’s crash number may appear elevated because it uses telematics to monitor its vehicles and obtain real-time crash reports. Other automakers lack such capability, so their crash reports may emerge more slowly or may not be reported at all, NHTSA has said.