Tesla Autopilot, similar automated driving systems rated 'poor' by safety group

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rolled out a new safety rating system for partial automated driving systems, and the first tests did not go well for Tesla – or nearly any of the electric vehicle giant's rivals.

Under the system, the IIHS assigns the systems a rating of good, acceptable, marginal or poor based on its safeguards, and none of the automated systems landed an overall rating of "good."

Of the 14 systems rated, 11 were found to be "poor," including Tesla's Autopilot and its Full Self-Driving version, which is in beta testing, along with Nissan's ProPILOT Assist 2.0, Mercedes-Benz's Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC with Active Steering Assist, Ford's BlueCruise and BMW's Active Driving Assistant.

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The only system that performed worse than Tesla's, according to the findings, was Volvo's Pilot Assist.

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But the three remaining systems did not receive glowing reviews from the IIHS, either. 

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The top system was Lexus' Teammate with Advanced Drive, which was deemed an overall rating of "acceptable." The No. 2 spot went to General Motors' Super Cruise, and Nissan's ProPILOT Assist with Navi-link came in third – both systems received ratings of "marginal" from the IIHS.

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"Some drivers may feel that partial automation makes long drives easier, but there is little evidence it makes driving safer," IIHS President David Harkey said. "As many high-profile crashes have illustrated, it can introduce new risks when systems lack the appropriate safeguards."

Tesla and its chief executive, Elon Musk, have said that a Tesla operating with Autopilot engaged is about 10 times safer than the U.S. average and five times safer than a Tesla without the technology enabled. Federal regulators are investigating nearly 1,000 accidents in which Tesla's Autopilot was in use. 

The IIHS reported that it expects manufacturers will continue to improve their systems' safety features, and noted that the two Tesla systems it tested used software that preceded the company's latest software update from December.

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Every automaker that responded to FOX Business' requests for comment on the IIHS report touted their commitments to safety.

Nissan added in its statement that the company is "evaluating the results from the first-ever Partial Automation Safeguards test and will continue to work with IIHS in all matters related to customer safety."

Ford said, "We have been working closely with IIHS since BlueCruise was introduced in 2021. While we do not agree with IIHS’s findings, we will take their feedback into consideration as we continue to evaluate future updates."

Mercedes-Benz noted in its statement that "This new IIHS testing methodology does not assess the performance of the driver assistance systems, instead it focuses on safeguards to prevent misuse. We take the findings of the IIHS partial driving automation safeguard ratings very seriously." 

A Volvo spokesperson said in a statement that "At Volvo Cars we believe a car is either autonomous or not, and at the time we do not sell any cars with what we consider to be autonomous driving features." They added, "We’re happy to see that IIHS is proposing countermeasures and test protocols seeking to reduce the prevalence of both overreliance on and misuse of any driving assistance systems."

BMW said "We respect and appreciate the efforts of the IIHS to challenge our industry to make better, safer vehicles, but occasionally we differ philosophically about how to do certain things – in this case, how driver assistance systems should monitor driver attention and in what situations."

The BMW statement added, "The test conducted by the IIHS in the BMW X1 evaluated only one function of one driver assistance system."

Lexus parent Toyota also issued a statement, saying, "Beyond meeting applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, Toyota continuously aim to increase vehicle safety.  As a part of that effort, Toyota, among other things, considers performance in third-party testing programs like NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program and IIHS’s Top Safety Pick program."

GM said, "As new vehicles increasingly come equipped with more advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), efforts like the partial automation ratings report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) are important for more robust and unified safeguards. We are judicious about safely expanding access to our industry-first hands-free system, Super Cruise, which is meant to serve as an enhancement to the driving experience. Super Cruise is an ADAS, not a safety feature."

Tesla did not respond to FOX Business' request for comment on the findings.

Reuters contributed to this report.