There Auto Be A Law

A deep dive into why “AVs are safer than humans” headlines are shaky: safety studies often ignore changing software, remote-operator roles, empty-vehicle miles that reduce “injury crashes,” selective reporting, weak human-driver baselines (especially COVID-era data), and risk exported to other road users when vehicles stop or phantom brake. The big warning: past performance doesn’t prove safety at massive scale or in new cities with different conditions, and rare fatalities need far more miles to measure. Skepticism also targets closed-door industry “standards” shaping federal rules, plus quick hits on messy recall fixes, rear-camera failures, and an investigation into Comma.ai after crashes and fatalities.
https://avsafety.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-the-limitations-of-robotaxi
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/nhtsa-wants-ideas-fix-recalls-120949573.html
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V605-9379.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V597-1248.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V598-8506.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2026/INOA-PE26007-17274.pdf

A driverless car wanders through a Denver farmers market, and authorities admit there’s no clear way to ticket an empty vehicle. Maybe a Geofence Notice Specification would help? Federal pedestrian-protection results look grim for U.S. automakers, with most qualifying models coming from Asian brands. Emergency hotlines for self-driving operators often fail, raising doubts about remote help and the need for passenger emergency controls. Concerns over reclined or rotated seating in future AVs plus recalls
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https://www.9news.com/article/news/community/transportation/waymo-drives-denver-farmers-market-no-law/73-a55cac7b-9c76-4003-896b-1dd5ad162dea
https://www.autopilotwatch.com/analysis/the-fsd-death-toll
https://www.teslarati.com/why-automakers-keep-turning-down-elon-musks-tesla-full-self-driving-offer/
https://autos.yahoo.com/safety-and-recalls/articles/nhtsa-says-102-cars-meet-182521601.html
https://www.wired.com/story/meet-the-academics-trying-to-stop-you-from-having-sex-in-robotaxis/
https://www.wired.com/story/how-self-driving-cars-might-change-crash-testing-forever/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TZFcyzGEiY
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/ford-ceo-jim-farley-disputes-131135101.html
https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2026-09/NHTSA-260820-001_Signed.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V590-6184.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V587-5272.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V588-5849.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V599-8186.pdf

Federal crash tests still rely on a 5’9”, 170‑lb male dummy, leaving heavier, taller, older, and many female body types underrepresented while better (but pricier) sensor-rich dummies exist. Europe pushes intelligent speed assistance and even satellite enforcement, but accuracy, hacking, and real-world driving edge cases raise concerns. Waymo drew dozens of police calls and now touts a new compute chip, prompting worries about revalidating safety and cosmic-ray-induced electronic upsets without strong standards. GM gets heat for cheap backseat “kid reminder” software instead of true presence detection. Tesla takes hits for reckless FSD hype and rising crash reports. A banned counterfeit Chinese airbag inflator claims an 11th life. Recalls: Ford F‑150 fuel tank straps, Toyota C‑HR overcharge shutdown, Ford Bronco curtain-airbag burr.
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https://celticswire.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2026/09/10/crash-test-dummies-get-second-look-for-safety-from-michigan-labs/90886527007/
https://insideevs.com/news/801020/eu-mulling-satellite-speed-limits/
https://www.designnews.com/automotive-engineering/waymo-unveils-custom-5nm-asic-to-power-real-time-autonomous-driving-with-1000-tops-performance
https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/general/police-records-show-how-waymo-robotaxis-struggled-on-san-antonio-streets/ar-AA2c7hdG
https://electrek.co/2026/09/11/musk-promotes-tesla-fsd-misuse-98-year-old/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/09/12/would-jesus-like-waymo-baptists-have-thoughts/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/nyregion/mamdani-street-safety-vision-zero-reimagined.htmlmore links at the site.

This week we're joined by former NASA engineer Chris Chamberlin to discuss oil changes. But first it's Tesla’s steering-wheel-free Cybercab rolls out while claiming self-certified compliance, prompting regulators to probe how it could possibly meet federal safety standards despite missing basics like pedals and mirrors. Their emergency responder guide is mocked as wildly impractical: flatbed-only towing, badge-to-camera verification, jumpstarting low-voltage power to open the hood, heavy “guillotine” doors, and battery fires needing 3,000–8,000 gallons of water. The discussion compares lax autonomous-vehicle oversight to NASA-style “test what you fly,” then detours into shuttle-era lubricant analysis and why oil-change intervals are oversold. Recalls cover Jeep coil springs and rear-camera software failures in Ram and Outlander.
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https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/investigation-tesla-cybercab-self-certification
https://electrek.co/2026/09/08/tesla-cybercab-hidden-virtual-joystick-manual-driving/
https://www.dps.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/highwaypatrol/cav/plans/tesla_cybercab_robotaxi.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/business/tesla-cybercab-nhtsa-investigation.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/09/07/seat-belt-chimes-are-meant-save-lives-some-people-still-resent-them/
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V562-9434.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V560-9456.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V549-3979.pdf

We look at why sunroofs can shatter—debris, temperature swings, or defects—and why switching to laminated glass could worsen escape in a crash. Telematics data suggests cell phone use before crashes is far higher than police reports indicate, though navigation may muddy the numbers. A Waymo collision shows the robot kept driving to a safer pull-over, while Tesla’s “FSD Lite” on older hardware is criticized after plowing over a large log. A federal reporting quirk can miss robotaxi hard-braking injuries without a crash, fueling calls for near-miss reporting. Also: eBay bans airbag listings, a fuel-economy rollback is blasted, “rest-in-red” lights reward slow drivers, Singapore caps car ownership, and major recalls hit Chrysler, Kia, Britax, Lucid, and Ford.
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https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/car-sunroofs-keep-spontaneously-explodingand-the-problem-is-getting-worse-b197d466
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/study-shows-police-reports-undercount-cellphone-use-before-crashes
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/general/waymo-driverless-vehicle-collides-with-car-in-california/vi-AA2b8tPI#
https://electrek.co/2026/08/24/tesla-fsd-v14-1-lite-drove-over-log/
https://autos.yahoo.com/policy-and-environment/articles/why-robotaxi-hard-braking-injuries-215500260.html
https://news.engin.umich.edu/2026/07/self-driving-cars-near-miss-driving-data-can-expedite-av-algorithm-training/
https://www.autonomousvehicleinternational.com/news/trucks/amd-to-power-kodiak-ais-next-generation-autonomous-trucks.html
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2022-1more links at the website