I noticed a lot of great safety engineering analysis in this new investigation by the Los Angeles Times.

…since 2021, at least 23 people have died in crashes involving Autopilot or Full Self-Driving systems. That tally comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which also reports 840 Autopilot/FSD-related crashes over the same period.

[…]

Tesla’s monitoring system is simple compared with others on the market. Tesla uses only a camera, while most of the others add infrared sensors that allow for a more sophisticated analysis of subtle behaviors such as gaze and head movement.

Colin Barndem, who follows the driver monitoring market for Semicast Research in London, said he ranks Tesla’s system “as the worst driver monitor system on the market. Last place … with no infrared illumination, it’s as close as possible to useless.”

The U.S. doesn’t set standards for driver monitoring systems, although NHTSA is researching the issue. Barndem notes that Europe already has such standards in place, and that “the U.S. is five years behind Europe.”

“NHTSA’s goal is to save lives,” Barndem said. “If they’re not going to follow the European example and set minimum standards, [loss of life] is what’s going to happen.”