this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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TL;DR: Self-Driving Teslas Rear-End Motorcyclists, Killing at Least 5

Brevity is the spirit of wit, and I am just not that witty. This is a long article, here is the gist of it:

  • The NHTSA’s self-driving crash data reveals that Tesla’s self-driving technology is, by far, the most dangerous for motorcyclists, with five fatal crashes that we know of.
  • This issue is unique to Tesla. Other self-driving manufacturers have logged zero motorcycle fatalities with the NHTSA in the same time frame.
  • The crashes are overwhelmingly Teslas rear-ending motorcyclists.

Read our full analysis as we go case-by-case and connect the heavily redacted government data to news reports and police documents.

Oh, and read our thoughts about what this means for the robotaxi launch that is slated for Austin in less than 60 days.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 hours ago

It’s because the system has to rely on visual cues, since Tesla’s have no radar. The system looks at the tail light when it’s dark to gauge the distance from the vehicle. And since some bikes have a double light the system thinks it’s a car in front of them that is far away, when in reality it’s a bike up close. Also remember the ai is trained on human driving behavior which Tesla records from their customers. And we all know how well the average human drives around two wheeled vehicles.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 hours ago

Cuz other self driving cars use LIDAR so it's basically impossible for them to not realise that a bike is there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

You mean they are providing organ donations more than any other car. Silver lining. /s

[–] [email protected] 4 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

What bike is that in the photo?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

It looks a great deal like a Royal Enfield, but I couldn't tell you which model. A Bullet, maybe?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 12 hours ago

My partner and I were actually debating that exact question before I posted it!

It's just stock art, but of a rider in the Midwest. Custom exhaust, custom saddle and rack for that cafe racer look, and I just barely can't make out the model on the engine fairing.

Here it is all big, let me know if you can figure it out: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-person-riding-a-motorcycle-on-a-city-street-kPfwWyUWubA

Looks hot, that's why I picked it.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

the cybertruck is sharp enough to cut a deer in half, surely a biker is just as vulnerable.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 21 hours ago (9 children)

Remember, you have the right to self-defence, against both rogue robots and rogue humans.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I wonder if a state court judge could mandate its use as unsafe?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

They are illegal in every developed country.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago

But muh innovation! How are genius CEOs supposed to innovate if they can't use the public at large as guinea pigs??

[–] [email protected] 11 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

This is another reason I’ll never drive a motorcycle. Fuck that shit.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

It's like smoking: if you haven't started, don't XD

[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

As a fellow meat crayon I agree

[–] [email protected] 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Bahaha, that one is new to me.

~~Back when I worked on an ambulance, we called the no helmet guys organ donors.~~

This comment was brought to you by PTSD, and has been redacted in a rare moment of sobriety.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I also rammed 10cc spikes at the back of the bus, the world needs organ donors and motorcycles provide a great service for that. Hope your EMT career was short lived but rewarding.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

My EMT career was both short lived and rewarding, right back at ya :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Negative. I'm a meat popsicle.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I remember finding a motorcycle community on reddit that called themselves "squids" or "squiddies" or something like that.

Their whole thing was putting road tyres on dirtbikes and riding urban environments like they were offroad obstacles. You know, ramping things, except on concrete.

They loved to talk about how dumb & short-lived they were. I couldn't ever find that group again, so maybe I misremembered the "squid" name, but I wanted to find them again, not to ever try it - fuck that - but because the bikes looked super cool. I just have a thing for gender-bent vehicles.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Calamari Racing Team. It's mostly a counter-movement to r/Motorcycles, where most of the posters are seen as anti-fun. Their whole thing is that, not just a specific way to ride, they also have a legendary commenter that pays money for pics in full leather.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

That's the one! Thanks, that was un-googleable for me.

I guess the road-tyres-on-dirt-bikes thing was maybe a trend when I saw the sub.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 18 hours ago

As someone who likes the open sky feeling, this is why I drive a convertible instead.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (11 children)

I imagine bicyclists must be æffected as well if they're on the road (as we should be, technically). As somebody who has already been literally inches away from being rear-ended, this makes me never want to bike in the US again.

Time to go to Netherlands.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 13 hours ago

this makes me never want to bike in the US again.

I live close enough to work for it to be a very reasonable biking distance. But there is no safe route. A high-speed "stroad" with a narrow little bike lane. It would only be a matter of time before some asshole with their face in their phone drifts into me.

I am deeply resentful of our automobile-centric infrastructure in the U.S. It's bad for the environment, bad for our wallets, bad for our waistlines, and bad for physical safety.

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