Overview
- The Office of Defects Investigation has opened a preliminary federal inquiry after five reported crashes tied to Comma.ai devices that together injured 11 people and killed three.
- Agency reviewers say the Comma devices were powered on or engaged in several collisions and that early data suggest the systems did not detect or respond to slow or stopped vehicles in the same lane.
- Investigators are now tracing the software used in each crash to see if cars ran Comma.ai’s official openpilot releases or third‑party modified versions such as FrogPilot, which complicates technical attribution.
- Comma.ai sells an aftermarket camera‑based device that can steer, accelerate, and brake while warning drivers to remain ready to take control, and the product’s open‑source code allows community forks that change how the system runs.
- The inquiry echoes past probes of other driver‑assist systems and could sharpen federal oversight of aftermarket and open‑source ADAS while affecting families of crash victims and drivers who use hands‑off features.