Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) updated its Safety Score feature to version 1.2 back in November, and drivers are discovering that late-night driving has been dinging their safety scores, and, unfortunately for those on Tesla insurance, potentially raising their premiums.
The electric carmaker justifies that the new Safety Factor, called Late Night Driving, factors in the assumption that driving at night can be more dangerous because of other considerations such as reduced visibility, tiredness, as well distractions.
This Reddit user offers an explanation, saying it’s not you (or really, not Tesla’s fault), but the nature of nighttime driving itself.
The blog Not A Tesla App pulls up National Safety Council data that says “most fatal accidents occur between 4 pm and 11:59 pm, with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday being the most frequent accident days.”
Twitter user Keubiko points out how this can be unfair to people who actually need to drive at night, such as “shift workers, and hardcore H-1B hostage engineers driving home from Twitter at 11pm.”
But the majority of commenters on both posts echo Reddit user Travielee’s sentiment: it sucks, but it’s really just how the numbers work, with one Twitter user pointing out that it’s just “Pure actuary work here. Numbers = risk. No thought given to people.”
Tesla hopes that the insights gained from Safety Score would help drivers review each drive and correct issues that would prevent them from receiving the option for Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta. Users will need a safety score of at least 80 for the feature, despite shelling out the cash for it.
Information for this story was found via Twitter and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
