Full Self-Driving Sounds Like Magic Until You See the Crash Numbers

Full Self-Driving sounds like a cheat code for traffic. The real crash numbers are a lot less glamorous. Since 2021, federal crash reports collected under NHTSA’s Standing General Order have shown one pattern again and again: Tesla racks up the bulk of serious incidents involving driver-assist systems, especially fatal crashes where Autopilot or FSD was in play.

At the same time, a new Waymo safety study over 56.7 million driverless miles shows big drops in injury crashes compared with human drivers in the same cities. Fewer serious injuries. Fewer pedestrian hits. Fewer cyclists on the ground. That doesn’t make robotaxis perfect, but it proves something important: sensor-heavy, tightly supervised automation behaves very differently from camera-only systems that lean on the driver as the final safety net.

A Reuters analysis of federal crash reports found Tesla involved in the vast majority of fatal crashes reported under those rules, even as the company talks up safety stats on its own site. That tension is the whole story in one picture: the marketing says “safer than humans,” while independent data keeps regulators glued to Tesla’s every move.

How To Use Driver-Assist Without Becoming the Beta Test

Here’s the rule for you: treat every FSD-style system as very fancy cruise control. Nothing more. Use it on roads the automaker actually calls out as suitable. That usually means clear lane markings, predictable traffic, and decent weather. You stay hands-on, eyes up, and ready to override every second it’s on.

The moment the car hesitates at an exit, hugs a barrier, or does something twitchy around parked cars or bikes, you take over. No ego, no debate. On long highway slogs, a good driver-assist suite helps you arrive fresher. In tight city streets or in heavy rain, the software becomes a stress multiplier. In those moments, you drive the car, not the other way around.

If your city has robotaxis, try a ride. Feel how slowly they roll through complex intersections. Watch how often they say “no” to a tricky move. That caution is what you want to steal for your own habits: let the car help with the easy stuff, but keep human instincts front and center whenever lives are on the line.

My Verdict

You don’t need to swear off Autopilot or FSD, but you do need to stay the grown-up in the seat to make sure blue lights don't light up your drive. Use driver-assist where it shines, kill it the second the car gets weird, and spend your money with brands that prove safety with hard crash data, not just bold claims. Your family car is not a science experiment, and you should never let any software treat you like the dummy in the test.