Tesla Autopilot, others test 'poor' in self-driving safety study

March 12 (UPI) -- Tesla Autopilot and 10 other advanced driver assistance or self-driving systems tested by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety earned "poor" safety ratings.

The institute tested 14 systems for their full and partial self-driving systems, as well as hands-free highway driving systems. Two other systems earned just "marginal" ratings, a step above poor.

David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute, said that his organization stepped into testing the systems since federal agencies like the National Highway Safety Administration do not provide a rating system.

"Some drivers may feel that partial automation makes long drives easier, but there is little evidence it makes driving safer," Harkey said, according to CNN. "As many high-profile crashes have illustrated, it can introduce new risks when systems lack appropriate safeguards."

The institute tested the systems in seven categories: driver monitoring, attention reminders, emergency procedures, safety features and three driver involvement categories lane changes, adaptive cruise control resumption and cooperative steering.

According to Cars.com, the institute gave Lexus Teammate with Advanced Drive an acceptable rating, which topped all the self-driving systems tested.

The GM Super Cruise in the GMC Sierra and the Nissan ProPilot Assist in the Nissan Ariya earned a Marginal rating.

Those giving Poor ratings were the BMW Active Driving Assistant Pro on the BMWX1; Ford Adaptive Cruise Control in the Ford Mustang Mach-E; Ford BlueCruise in the Mustang Mach-E; and Genesis Smart Cruise Control in the Genesis G90.

Also, Lexus Dynamic Radar Cruise Control in the Lexus LS; Mercedes-Benz Active Distance Assist Distronic in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class; Nissan ProPilot Assist 2.0 in the Nissan Ariya; Tesla Autopilot in the Tesla Model 3; Tesla Full Self Driving in the Tesla Model 3; and Volvo Pilot Assist in the Volvo S90.