Tesla Launches Safety Score 2.0 with Improved Accuracy

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Tesla has launched Safety Score version 2.0 to make the score more accurate. The company is featuring several updates, which includes two new Safety Factors, and updates to how driving behavior is measured and Safety Score calculated.

Tesla's Safety Score Beta is an assessment of driving behavior based on several metrics called Safety Factors. These are combined to estimate the likelihood that driving could result in a future collision. The company combines daily Safety Scores (up to 30 days) to calculate the aggregated Safety Score, displayed on the main ‘Safety Score’ screen of the Tesla app. Safety Score Beta is intended to provide drivers transparency and feedback on their driving behaviors to encourage safer driving and potentially pay less for insurance. The Safety Score is a value between 0 and 100, where a higher score indicates safer driving.

On Friday, Tesla launched Safety Score 2.0, a new version of its driver-rating system. The company strives to make it more perfect and fair, as this directly affects insurance costs. As described, Safety Score 2.0 contains several updates, including two new Safety Factors and updates to how driving behavior is measured and Safety Score calculated.

Here are the key changes from version 1.2 to version 2.0:

Added Excessive Speeding as a new Safety Factor. More time spent driving over 85 mph will lead to a lower Safety Score.
Added Unbuckled Driving as a new Safety Factor. Time spent driving over 10 mph without buckling the driver’s seatbelt will lead to a lower Safety Score.
Updated Late Night Driving to be risk weighted based on when you are driving from 10 PM – 4 AM. The impact of late night driving on your Safety Score will depend on the proportion of time spent driving in each hour from 10 PM – 4 AM. The impact on your Safety Score is now reduced earlier in the night and increased later in the night.
Updated Hard Braking Safety Factor to exclude braking events that occur when the vehicle detects a yellow traffic light.

Safety Factors

There are several Safety Factors that impact your Safety Score. These are measured directly by your Tesla vehicle using various sensors on the vehicle and Autopilot software.

Forward Collision Warnings per 1,000 Non-Autopilot Miles

Forward Collision Warnings are audible and visual alerts provided to you, the driver, in events where a possible collision due to an object in front of the vehicle is considered likely without your intervention. Events are captured based on the 'medium' Forward Collision Warning sensitivity setting regardless of your user's setting in the vehicle. Forward Collision Warnings are incorporated into the Safety Score formula as a rate per 1,000 non-Autopilot miles. The value is capped at 130.7 per 1,000 non-Autopilot miles in the Safety Score formula.

Hard Braking

Hard braking is defined as backward acceleration, measured by your Tesla vehicle, in excess of 0.3g. This is the same as a decrease in the vehicle’s speed larger than 6.7 mph, in one second. Hard braking is introduced into the Safety Score formula as the proportion of time where the vehicle experiences backward acceleration greater than 0.3g as a percentage of the proportion of time the vehicle experiences backward acceleration greater than 0.1g (2.2 mph in one second). Hard braking while on Autopilot is not factored into the Safety Score formula. For vehicles with Autopilot computer 3.0 or greater, braking while the vehicle detects yellow traffic lights is also not factored into the Safety Score formula. If the vehicle is unable to detect a yellow traffic light at the time of the hard braking, the event will impact your Safety Score. The percentage shown in the app is the proportion of time spent braking done with excessive force when driving and Autopilot is not engaged. The value is capped at 5.8% in the Safety Score formula.

Aggressive Turning

Aggressive turning is defined as left/right acceleration, measured by your Tesla vehicle, in excess of 0.4g. This is the same as an increase in the vehicle’s speed to the left/right larger than 8.9 mph, in one second. Aggressive turning is introduced into the Safety Score formula as the proportion of time the vehicle experiences left or right acceleration greater than 0.4g as a percentage of the proportion of time the vehicle experiences left or right acceleration greater than 0.2g (4.5 mph in one second). Aggressive turning while on Autopilot is not factored into the Safety Score formula. The percentage shown in the app is the proportion of time spent turning with excessive force when driving and Autopilot is not engaged. The value is capped at 15.7% in the Safety Score formula.

Unsafe Following

Your Tesla vehicle measures its own speed, the speed of the vehicle in front and the distance between the two vehicles. Based on these measurements, your vehicle calculates the number of seconds you would have to react and stop if the vehicle in front of you came to a sudden stop. This measurement is called “headway.” Unsafe following is the proportion of time where your vehicle’s headway is less than 1.0 seconds relative to the time that your vehicle’s headway is less than 3.0 seconds. Unsafe following is only measured when your vehicle is traveling at least 50 mph and is incorporated into the Safety Score formula as a percentage. Unsafe following while on Autopilot is not factored into the Safety Score formula. The percentage shown in the app is the percentage of unsafe following when driving and Autopilot is not engaged. The value is capped at 64.2% in the Safety Score formula.

Excessive Speeding

Excessive Speeding is defined as the proportion of time spent driving in excess of 85 mph, as a percentage of the total time driving. The value shown in the app is the proportion of time driven at a speed over 85 mph versus all driving time. The value is capped at 7.6% in the Safety Score formula.

Late Night Driving

Late Night Driving is defined as the number of seconds you spend driving at night (10 PM - 4 AM) divided by the number of seconds you spend driving total during the day and night. Due to the variable risk level associated with driving during each late night hour, each hour is weighed differently, and driving at each hour will affect your Safety Score differently. For example, driving at 10 PM will not affect your Safety Score as heavily as driving at 2 AM. Drive sessions that span two days will apply to the day the trip ends. Late Night Driving includes all driving at night (10 PM – 4 AM) including any driving done on Autopilot. The value is capped at 15.2% in the Safety Score formula.

Forced Autopilot Disengagement

The Autopilot system disengages for the remainder of a trip after you, the driver, have received three audio and visual warnings. These warnings occur when your Tesla vehicle has determined that you have not applied sufficient resistance on the steering wheel or have become inattentive. Forced Autopilot Disengagement is introduced into the Safety Score formula as a 1 or 0 indicator. The value is 1 if the Autopilot system is forcibly disengaged during a trip, and 0 otherwise.

Unbuckled Driving

Unbuckled Driving is defined as the proportion of time spent driving above 10 mph without fastening the driver’s seatbelt, as a percentage of time spent driving above 10 mph. The value shown in the app is the proportion of time driven at a speed over 10 mph, without buckling the driver’s seatbelt, as a percentage of time spent driving over 10 mph. The value is capped at 4.1% in the Safety Score formula.

2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Eva Fox

Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.

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