Engaging the Tesla Autosteer lane-keeping function that assists drivers while the car is in motion increased crash rates by 59 percent, according to a study of Tesla data by research and consulting firm Quality Control Systems.

The Quality Control Systems analysis, reported at
ArsTechnica.com, contradicts a 2017 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that concluded the Tesla system decreased the crash rate by 40 percent.

“One of the primary concerns for motorcyclists sharing the roads with automated vehicles is the tendency of drivers to rely too heavily on this nascent technology and pay less attention to traffic and road conditions,” said Wayne Allard, AMA vice president of government relations. “The findings by Quality Control Systems appear to confirm our concerns.”

Quality Control Systems focused on 5,714 vehicles for which all relevant data was available. Many of the vehicles in the Tesla data set “suffered from missing data or other problems that made it impossible to say whether the activation of Autosteer increased or decreased the crash rate,” ArsTechnica.com reported.

The AMA continues to work with elected officials, regulatory agencies, car makers, software developers and others to ensure that motorcyclists are involved and considered in the development and deployment of highly automated vehicles.