US weakens crash reporting requirements for vehicles with Level 2 assisted driving systems

Fewer crashes involving Level 2 assisted driving systems will be reported in the United States following changes to the US Department of Transportation’s reporting rules.  

From now on, when a car crashes while a system such as Tesla Autopilot, Ford Blue Cruise or GM Super Cruise is engaged, and must be towed away, the incident doesn’t need to be reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as long as the incident did not involve a death, an individual being transported to a hospital for medical treatment, a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user being struck, or an airbag deployment. Car manufacturers will also have five days to report crashes; previously the deadline was 24 hours.  

The announced changes followed the reported sacking of NHTSA staff working on self-driving car risks as part of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s new role with the US government.  

Despite the weakening of the requirements in the US, they are still stronger than in the EU, where no such requirements exist for Level 2 assisted driving systems currently on the market. Only assisted driving systems coming to the EU market in line with new rules for ‘driver control assistance systems’ (DCAS) will be subject to reporting requirements. ETSC has repeatedly called for the establishment of an EU agency to monitor and investigate crashes involving all assisted and automated driving systems.