USA: Donald Trump could do away with NHTSA’s crash reporting rule

US automakers having to report car crashes could soon be a thing of the past. The President-elect Donald Trump could scrap the measure when taking office in January, undermining the government's ability to monitor the number of autonomously driving car crashes. However, Tesla is not the only one that would benefit from the move.

In the US, carmakers are currently required to report accidents involving their vehicles to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), if, for example, advanced driver-assistance or autonomous-driving technologies were engaged within 30 seconds of impact. The NHTSA can use the data to determine whether some vehicles or certain software are unsafe, for example.

Tesla has reported more than 1,500 crashes of the 2,700 cases reported since the rule was established in 2021. Needless to say, that is more than any other carmaker. Further, the EV maker has come under scrutiny from the NHTSA, most recently because of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. An investigation of 2.4 million Tesla vehicles was launched after several software accidents involving the software.

Tesla has repeatedly spoken out against the rule to report crashes, though it is unclear whether or not CEO Elon Musk has anything to do with the announced change in policy. According to Reuters, Trump transition advisor Jason Miller did say that the recommendations come from “outsiders who have no role in charting administration policy.”

However, it should be noted that the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing most carmakers in the US, is also not a fan of the reporting requirement. Tesla is not the only company to have run into trouble with the NHTSA: GM’s former autonomous robotaxi business Cruise was fined 1.5 million dollars for not reporting an incident where a vehicle dragged a pedestrian. GM said last week that it would stop working on autonomous technology.

Referring back to Tesla, even though others might be critical of the NHTSA rule, Tesla remains the most outspoken and has the most to gain. It says just because it offers more automated and autonomous driving software than other carmakers, statistics make it look like it has more crashes than any other brand.

Whether or when the changes will really be implemented and what the consequences for carmakers and drivers will be – good or bad – remains to be seen, however.

reuters.com