Tesla's FSD system misreads speed limits in European testing, safety group reports
Belgian road-safety group finds Tesla's automated driving frequently exceeds limits and attempts illegal overtakes in real-world testing.
What to know
- Belgian safety group found FSD exceeded speed limits in majority of tested zones, averaging 44 km/h in 30 km/h areas, and displayed incorrect higher limits to drivers.
- System also attempted illegal overtakes of cyclists, though report noted cautious behavior around pedestrians in other scenarios.
- Tesla disputes findings; regulators who approved FSD emphasize driver responsibility and system's learning capability; EU-wide vote scheduled for October 6.
- European regulators divided: some countries like Sweden expressed concerns about speed-limit compliance; others say approval is appropriate given driver oversight requirements.
The dispute Whether FSD's documented speed-limit and illegal-overtaking failures are serious enough to warrant regulatory action or revision versus acceptable given driver responsibility and system maturation over time. · positions read across 1 posts and comments
FSD has documented safety issues that warrant regulatory concern and reassessment.
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“It is akin to a passenger constantly reassuring the driver that the speed limit is 50 km/h in nearly every 30-zone through which they pass”
Johanna.be · Channel News Asia / Reuters ↗
FSD is a learning system with potential; driver responsibility and oversight make approval appropriate despite imperfections.
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“a learning system that continuously processes new and additional information”
Xavier Lesenne · Channel News Asia / Reuters ↗
FSD speed-limit failures are real but not disqualifying; they're known software issues users learn to work around.
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“My Model Y used to automatically set the cruise control to 65 mph through a city park with a speed limit 20 mph. It was more funny than dangerous, but I can see where it can cause a lot of speeding tickets. I reported it to Tesla, and they…”
xpda · Reddit ↗
“the driver remains 100% responsible and must be ready to intervene should the system make an error or fail to correctly apply a traffic rule”
Xavier Lesenne, Flemish government transportation ministry spokesman · Channel News Asia / Reuters ↗
Tesla FSD system manufacturerJohanna.be Belgian road-safety advocacy groupXavier Lesenne Flemish government transportation ministry spokespersonRDW Dutch regulatorEuropean Transport Safety Council EU safety organization
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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upcoming
EU-wide vote on FSD approval scheduled — An EU-wide vote on FSD approval is expected to occur on October 6, as several EU countries including Sweden have expressed concerns about the system's speed-limit compliance.
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2
Belgian and Dutch regulators defend FSD approval
Xavier Lesenne, spokesperson for the Flemish government's transportation ministry, characterized FSD as 'a learning system that continuously processes new and additional information' and said the driver 'remains 100% responsible' and must intervene if the system makes errors. He cited Tesla data showing the technology 'holds significant potential for accident prevention today.'
“a learning system that continuously processes new and additional information…”
— Xavier Lesenne, Flemish government transportation ministry -
My Model Y (which I've since sold) used to automatically set the cruise control to 65 mph through a city park with a speed limit 20 mph. It was more funny than dangerous, but I can see where it can cause a lot of speeding tickets. I reported it to Tesla, and they said it was a software problem, and acted like that made it OK.
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background
Tesla responds with study claiming FSD does not speed excessively — Tesla released a study earlier in September stating that FSD-enabled vehicles do not speed excessively and drive at speeds matching surrounding traffic, contradicting the Belgian group's findings.
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1
Safety group releases report finding FSD exceeds speed limits and attempts illegal overtakes
Johanna.be published findings that FSD exceeded speed limits in 20 km/h and 30 km/h zones, often displaying incorrect higher speed limits to drivers (showing 50 km/h when actual limit was 30 km/h). In tested 30 km/h segments around Brussels, FSD averaged 44 km/h. Videos showed the system attempting illegal overtakes of cyclists on prohibited streets.
“It is akin to a passenger constantly reassuring the driver that the speed limit is 50 km/h in nearly every 30-zone through which they pass…”
— Johanna.be report -
background
Johanna.be conducts three-day FSD test in Belgium — The Belgian road-safety advocacy group tested Tesla's Full Self-Driving system over three days in July, covering approximately 400 km (249 miles) around Brussels and other areas.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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3 outlets Tesla’s supervised self-driving system often misreads speed limits, Belgian safety group finds
first by Straits Times, 3h ago · also Investing.com News, Channel News Asia