The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Comma.ai following reports of five crashes involving its aftermarket driver assistance technology. Two of these incidents resulted in three fatalities, while four crashes caused injuries to as many as 11 people.
Regulators noted that the Comma devices failed to detect or respond to stopped or slow-moving vehicles in the same lane. The Office of Defects Investigation indicated that some incidents, including at least one fatal crash, may have involved modified or forked versions of the openpilot software.
One fatal incident occurred in February 2026 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, involving a Toyota RAV4 equipped with a third-party fork of the software called FrogPilot. The vehicle struck a stationary first responder car, leading to the deaths of two rear-seat passengers.
Founded in 2015, Comma.ai produces hardware and the openpilot software designed to manage adaptive cruise control and lane centering. The company advises drivers to remain ready to take manual control at all times and utilizes a camera-based system to monitor for driver distraction.
