NHTSA investigates Comma.ai following five reported crashes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation has opened a federal investigation into Comma.ai after five reported crashes involving the startup’s aftermarket hands-off driver-assistance technology. Two of the crashes resulted in three deaths, and as many as 11 people were injured across four of the incidents, some seriously.
Investigators said the reported crashes involved Comma devices that failed to detect or respond to slow or stopped vehicles in the same travel lane. The agency is examining the incidents as it gathers information on the systems and the circumstances in which they were used.
Aftermarket assistance systems under review
Founded in 2015, Comma.ai makes devices that can be installed in a range of modern vehicles. Its hardware and openpilot software can control a car’s Adaptive Cruise Control and Automated Lane Centering functions, providing capabilities the company compares with Tesla Autopilot and GM Super Cruise.
Comma.ai states that openpilot can steer, accelerate and brake automatically for other vehicles within its lane. Its devices also use a camera-based driver-monitoring system intended to watch for distracted or sleepy drivers. The company nevertheless warns that drivers must remain able to take manual control immediately by pressing either pedal or the cancel button.
Modified software is part of the inquiry
The Office of Defects Investigation said some crashes, including at least one fatal incident, may have involved forked or modified versions of Comma.ai software. That distinction is material because the reported February 2026 crash in Ascension Parish, Louisiana involved a 2022 Toyota RAV4 running FrogPilot, a third-party fork of openpilot.
Louisiana State Police released details of a February crash that appear to match the report in the NHTSA database. In the agency’s description, the Toyota struck a stopped first responder vehicle and two rear-seat passengers died.
Comma.ai could not immediately be reached for comment. Founder George Hotz, who stepped back from the company’s day-to-day operations in 2022, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What the investigation means for users
The investigation does not determine the cause of the crashes or assign responsibility. It does, however, focus attention on the operational boundary between a driver-assistance feature and a system that a driver may wrongly regard as autonomous, particularly when software has been modified outside the original developer’s release path.
For businesses assessing vehicles with aftermarket driver-assistance hardware, the practical implication is to document the installed software version, prohibit unapproved forks where appropriate, and ensure that driver-supervision requirements remain explicit in operating procedures.