FSD Vehicles

[R7ehr]

I found out today that a family memeber had an accident this week. Interstate driving, in GM vehicle with Super Cruise, which he says can basically drive the car. (I am not familiar with Super Cruise). He doesn’t know if it malfunctioned, or if he did; He doesn’t know if he thought it was on, and it wasn’t; or of he turned it on, and it hadn’t quite taken control yet; or if he just human errored and had it of.
At any rate, he does use it frequently on the interstate. Sounds like (he or the FSD) his car left the slow lane to pass a truck by switching to the fast lane, and the interstate turned right. And he wasn’t paying attention, and was saying something to the passenger, and next thing he knew he was in the median going 75 mph, went airborne, and landed 18’ down onto another road that the interstate was going over.

If we assume the AI did not malfunction, one reality could still be that since he frequently used it, it conditioned him to not pay as much attention as he should have.

Insurance can’t get him a rental pickup, because all the rental pickups are being used to fight fires. So he is stuck with and SUV when he needs a truck.

Wife: wow were he or his passenger injured?

Not much. They both walked away fine, hardly a scratch. Driver has dome sore ribs. Both had seatbelts on, and all the airbags around them. They prayed for safety before leaving the home driveway, 5-8 hours earlier.

[JohnH]

According to at least one study the Tesla Model Y has a fatal accident rate of 3.7 times the national average of cars, 4.8 times the national average of SUVs. Apparently FSD and driver assist isn't everything some people imagine it to be.

Did that include Model Ys that don’t have Tesla FSD (it’s optional), or cases where it was switched off?

[JohnH]

I found out today that a family memeber had an accident this week. Interstate driving, in GM vehicle with Super Cruise, which he says can basically drive the car. (I am not familiar with Super Cruise). He doesn’t know if it malfunctioned, or if he did; He doesn’t know if he thought it was on, and it wasn’t; or of he turned it on, and it hadn’t quite taken control yet; or if he just human errored and had it of.
At any rate, he does use it frequently on the interstate. Sounds like (he or the FSD) his car left the slow lane to pass a truck by switching to the fast lane, and the interstate turned right. And he wasn’t paying attention, and was saying something to the passenger, and next thing he knew he was in the median going 75 mph, went airborne, and landed 18’ down onto another road that the interstate was going over.

If we assume the AI did not malfunction, one reality could still be that since he frequently used it, it conditioned him to not pay as much attention as he should have.

Insurance can’t get him a rental pickup, because all the rental pickups are being used to fight fires. So he is stuck with and SUV when he needs a truck.

Wife: wow were he or his passenger injured?

Not much. They both walked away fine, hardly a scratch. Driver has dome sore ribs. Both had seatbelts on, and all the airbags around them. They prayed for safety before leaving the home driveway, 5-8 hours earlier.

Note that Tesla FSD or Waymo, there would be an investigation to find out what happened. Is GM doing that?

[ken_sylvania]

According to at least one study the Tesla Model Y has a fatal accident rate of 3.7 times the national average of cars, 4.8 times the national average of SUVs. Apparently FSD and driver assist isn't everything some people imagine it to be.

Did that include Model Ys that don’t have Tesla FSD (it’s optional), or cases where it was switched off?

It probably also includes miles driven where FSD could not drive.

[R7ehr]

Note that Tesla FSD or Waymo, there would be an investigation to find out what happened. Is GM doing that?

I doubt it. Not that I am aware of.

I don’t think the main point of my story is that “maybe Super Cruise failed”. That was a speculation at most, not a fact.
The main point is that the frequent use of Super Cruise more likely may have had an corrosive effect on attentive human involvement.

[JohnH]

According to at least one study the Tesla Model Y has a fatal accident rate of 3.7 times the national average of cars, 4.8 times the national average of SUVs. Apparently FSD and driver assist isn't everything some people imagine it to be.

Did that include Model Ys that don’t have Tesla FSD (it’s optional), or cases where it was switched off?

It probably also includes miles driven where FSD could not drive.

There really aren’t any situations now where the current generation of Tesla FSD can’t be used, other than some off-road type things. It works fine in parking lots, for example, or narrow driveways and garages.

A better comparison is Waymo, since we know it is always in fsd mode. Why don’t you check out the accident statistics for that?

[JohnH]

Note that Tesla FSD or Waymo, there would be an investigation to find out what happened. Is GM doing that?

I doubt it. Not that I am aware of.

I don’t think the main point of my story is that “maybe Super Cruise failed”. That was a speculation at most, not a fact.
The main point is that the frequent use of Super Cruise more likely may have had an corrosive effect on attentive human involvement.

Yes, relying on something that isn’t full fsd as if it is is a bad idea.

[ken_sylvania]

Did that include Model Ys that don’t have Tesla FSD (it’s optional), or cases where it was switched off?

It probably also includes miles driven where FSD could not drive.

There really aren’t any situations now where the current generation of Tesla FSD can’t be used, other than some off-road type things. It works fine in parking lots, for example, or narrow driveways and garages.

A better comparison is Waymo, since we know it is always in fsd mode. Why don’t you check out the accident statistics for that?

Waymo seems unable to drive in the areas where I drive.

[JohnH]

It probably also includes miles driven where FSD could not drive.

There really aren’t any situations now where the current generation of Tesla FSD can’t be used, other than some off-road type things. It works fine in parking lots, for example, or narrow driveways and garages.

A better comparison is Waymo, since we know it is always in fsd mode. Why don’t you check out the accident statistics for that?

Waymo seems unable to drive in the areas where I drive.

It would be reasonable to compare it to other cars in the areas where it does drive, then.

[Bootstrap]

Waymo seems unable to drive in the areas where I drive.

It would be reasonable to compare it to other cars in the areas where it does drive, then.

For Waymo, there is some useful independent data that suggests they may be safer than the average driver:

https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/waymo- ... rash-study

And Waymo is an option that works today. But of course, few of us will move just to be in a place where Waymo offers service.

I don't think FSD, etc., really offer an alternative to driving for people too old to drive. You still have to be in the vehicle, alert, and ready to grab the wheel.