Independent Study Finds Serious Safety Concerns with Tesla FSD in Low-Speed Zones
On 24 September 2026, we published an independent study into the performance of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system ("FSD") in traffic environments that are particularly important for pedestrian and cyclist safety and comfort: 30 km/h zones, home zones (woonerf) and cycle streets.
A selection of video examples illustrating key findings from the study is available for download:
- FSD speeding through a 30 zone (slowed down & annotated)
- another FSD speeding at 45-50km/h through a 30 zone
- FSD attempting multiple times to overtake a cyclist in a cycle street
Main findings
The study found that Tesla FSD frequently failed to comply with speed limits. In the Brussels-Capital Region, FSD exceeded the legal speed limit in 55% of the tested 30 km/h segments. In those instances, the segment speed reached on average 44 km/h, with even higher averages in free-flow conditions. According to the World Health Organization, the risk for a pedestrian to be killed when struck by a vehicle at 44 km/k is nearly 6 times higher compared to 30 km/h.
The research also found that the system displayed incorrect speed-limit information to the supervising driver in the vast majority of the tested 30 km/h zones. In many cases, the vehicle correctly recognized the 30 km/h speed limit but subsequently informed the driver that the applicable speed limit was 50 km/h. According to the report, this behavior can mislead supervising drivers while simultaneously contributing to speeding by the system itself.
Additional testing revealed poor performance in home zones, where FSD exceeded the 20 km/h speed limit in 42% of the locations examined. The system also showed serious shortcomings in Belgian cycle streets, where it failed to correctly recognize the applicable speed regime and repeatedly attempted to overtake cyclists despite Belgian law explicitly prohibiting such maneuvers.
At the same time, the study documents positive aspects of the system. Throughout the testing program, FSD generally interacted with pedestrians and cyclists in a cautious and courteous manner, often yielding appropriately and behaving respectfully. However, the report concludes that these positive characteristics cannot compensate for repeated speeding and failures to comply with key traffic rules.
Report submitted to Belgian and Dutch authorities
The report was sent on 7 September 2026 to the Rijksdienst voor het Wegverkeer (RDW), the Dutch authority that granted the provisional EU type approval for Tesla FSD (Supervised) and to the Flemish ministry responsible for authorizing the system in Belgium, with a request to review the approvals in light of the study's findings.
The broader publication of the report is meant to ensure that all relevant stakeholders have sufficient time to review the findings ahead of the vote on EU-wide approval of Tesla FSD, currently expected on 6 October 2026.