All posts tagged: NHTSA

Uber partner Avride is under investigation for self-driving crashes

Uber partner Avride is under investigation for self-driving crashes

Published by skeptic

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into Avride, a robotaxi company that has partnered with Uber, after identifying more than a dozen crashes and one minor injury. The safety regulator’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) said all 16 crashes that it has identified have to do with “the competence of” Avride’s self-driving system, which has apparently struggled with changing lanes, responding to other vehicles in the same lane, and responding to stationary objects. All of the crashes have come while the Avride vehicles were under the supervision of a safety monitor in the driver’s seat. Reached for comment, Avride declined to explain why the safety monitors did not intervene in these crashes. The company pointed out that it reported these crashes to the NHTSA as required by the agency’s 2021 Standing General Order on automated driving. “We have implemented targeted technical and operational mitigations to address our findings from each reported incident between December 2025 and March 2026, and have further enhanced overall system capabilities,” the company said in a …

Tesla Model Y first to pass NHTSA’s new ADAS tests — but they test the basics

Tesla Model Y first to pass NHTSA’s new ADAS tests — but they test the basics

Published by skeptic

NHTSA announced today that the 2026 Tesla Model Y is the first vehicle to pass its new advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) benchmark tests under the updated New Car Assessment Program. The agency framed it as a milestone for vehicle safety. The announcement is real progress, and credit where credit is due — Tesla passed all eight ADAS evaluations. But the context around this news is important, and it paints a more nuanced picture than the press release suggests. What Tesla actually passed The updated NCAP program added four new pass/fail ADAS evaluations: pedestrian automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning, and blind spot intervention. The Model Y (manufactured on or after November 12, 2025) passed all four of those, plus the program’s four original ADAS criteria: forward collision warning, crash imminent braking, dynamic brake support, and lane departure warning. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in the announcement that the Model Y “demonstrates the lifesaving potential of driver assistance technologies and sets a high bar for the industry.” Advertisement – scroll for more …

Tesla carelessly promotes ‘Full Self-Driving’ for driver losing his eyesight

Tesla carelessly promotes ‘Full Self-Driving’ for driver losing his eyesight

Published by skeptic

Tesla North America’s official account on X promoted a video interview of a new Cybertruck owner who says his ophthalmologist recommended he buy a Tesla with “Full Self-Driving” because he is losing his eyesight. The problem is that Tesla itself classifies FSD as a Level 2 driver-assist system that requires driver monitoring at all times — and the driver is responsible for the vehicle at all times. Those two things are fundamentally incompatible. Tesla North America reposted a video from a content creator known as Captain Eli, who self-describes as a “Tesla investor supporting Elon Musk”. In this particular clip, a Cybertruck buyer named Ricky explains that his deteriorating eyesight is what led him to Tesla. Ricky says he went to his ophthalmologist to discuss his ability to keep driving. According to Ricky, the doctor, who owns two Teslas himself, told him he needed a car with Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software. The ophthalmologist then set up a test drive for Ricky and even met him on a Saturday to walk him through the system. Advertisement …

Tesla is one step away from having to recall FSD in NHTSA visibility crash probe

Tesla is one step away from having to recall FSD in NHTSA visibility crash probe

Published by skeptic

NHTSA has escalated its investigation into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system’s inability to handle reduced visibility conditions, upgrading the probe to an Engineering Analysis covering an estimated 3,203,754 vehicles — the step that typically precedes a recall. The agency found that FSD’s degradation detection system fails to warn drivers when cameras are blinded by common road conditions like sun glare and fog, and that Tesla may be under-reporting related crashes. Third concurrent FSD investigation The new Engineering Analysis (EA26002), opened yesterday, upgrades the preliminary evaluation (PE24031) that NHTSA launched in October 2024 after identifying four crashes in reduced visibility conditions, including one that fatally struck a pedestrian. The scope has since expanded to nine total incidents with one fatality and one injury. And NHTSA is now examining six additional potentially related incidents on top of those. Advertisement – scroll for more content This makes it the third concurrent federal investigation into FSD. NHTSA is already running a separate probe (PE25012) into 58 incidents involving traffic violations like running red lights and crossing into opposing lanes, plus …