Brakes and Bollards: NHTSA Concern Prompts Recall

A new video by AI Addict showing his FSD 10.10 system bumping into a bollard among other traffic gaffes; days after FSD beta 10.9 had been recalled due to NHTSA concerns about the rolling stop feature. There’s a lot to unpack this week, so let’s start with the recall.

Less than two weeks after Tesla’s Q4 2021 Earnings call, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s concerns over the FSD’s “rolling stop” optional feature - which had been a part of the software since October 2020 - prompted its removal by Tesla as part of its version 10.10 release.

A rolling stop (something 99% of all drivers do) is when, upon approaching a 4-way stop, a driver who doesn’t see any obstruction, opposing traffic, or pedestrians, will slow to a crawl and navigate the intersection instead of coming to a dead stop. Now, while this would certainly get you a fail on your driver’s test, we all do it; and it’s important to note that this optional feature had been part of the FSD beta since late 2020 with no issues.

Okay, fair enough, the NHTSA believed the feature was potentially dangerous, and Tesla decided to perform a recall on 53,822 vehicles. Not a physical one, of course, but it seems the NHTSA’s legal dictionary hasn’t caught up to new tech yet, much to Tesla’s chagrin.

But that’s not the only problem for the FSD system this week, as we see in a new video from AI Addict on Youtube. The sensational bit is where the vehicle makes a right hand turn and lightly bumps into a bollard before the driver can react; but there are other issues dotted throughout the video. Running a red light, driving over some light rail tracks and some overly aggressive maneuvers show that perhaps the driver should have been more ready to stop the bollard bump.

I think it’s important to remember that the FSD system is in beta, and the company takes no responsibility for accidents caused by the software. This is because it’s very clear that the participants are supposed to maintain control over the vehicle, as issues like the ones we’re seeing can happen in a system in beta. Especially one that’s attempting to navigate roads and traffic. Until the bumps have been smoothed out, it’s best to keep your hands on ten and two.