Tesla Full-Self Driving Dangers: Tests Show It Speeds Past Stopped School Bus, Hits Dummy Kids

A third-party testing done by The Dawn Project and other partners reveal how Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software could be a possible danger in residential areas or school zones as it exhibited reckless driving in a controlled environment.

The recent demonstration by several groups showed how a Tesla electric vehicle ignored a parked school bus with its stop sign engaged and sped through the road, eventually hitting dummy models about the height of elementary school kids.

The testers used the FSD software by the company during the tests, and in its multiple trials, the Tesla EV failed on different occasions.

Tesla FSD: Speeds Through Stopped School Bus, Hits Dummy Kids

Engadget shared a new report that revealed the latest video from The Dawn Project, alongside partners Tesla Takedown and ResistAustin, which focused on third-party testing of Tesla's FSD technology. Here, they simulated a residential area on real road conditions, with a school bus dropping off or picking up kids to take to learning institutions.

It shows an oncoming Tesla Model Y using the FSD (Supervised) technology as it passes through the parked school bus, with the testers observing what the autonomous driving feature would do in an event like this.

However, instead of slowing down and stopping as the school bus stop sign lit up, the Model Y using the FSD (Supervised) sped past, and it eventually hit a dummy model about the height of a kid that was attempting to cross the road.

Tesla Full Self-Driving Software: Autonomous Dangers

It is important to note that the dummy kid came from behind a parked car, meaning it is a blind spot for even regular drivers that is driving through these kinds of situations. However, it is also worth noting that Tesla claims that its FSD can detect people even behind vehicles in its previous use of radar technology, but the company has since opted for Tesla Vision that relies solely on cameras.

The demonstration showed how the Tesla failed to stop or yield when the school bus lit up the stop sign, and it hit the dummy models eight times in their tests.

Tesla FSD and the Scrutiny on Its FSD

Over the years, Tesla has faced scrutiny and public outcry regarding its autonomous driving technologies that resulted in accidents as well as fatalities. Last year, the company settled a lawsuit from 2018 filed by the family of the deceased driver, Walter Huang, whose life ended in a tragedy following a crash that involved the Model X and the Autopilot technology.

Tesla also faced a false advertising lawsuit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in 2022. However, last year saw an administrative judge giving the green light to the California DMV to pursue the case against the company, which alleges that Tesla misleads customers with their claims on autonomous driving features.

Despite the many accidents, fatalities, and lawsuits that the company faced over the years, Tesla has recently launched the testing of its self-driving technology on the streets of San Francisco and Austin.

This specific venture focuses on their aspirations to launch a robotaxi service in these areas, with the company recently testing Model Ys using the FSD Supervised technology to drive on real-world roads.