Danny Weber
Tesla owners report that the Full Self-Driving system automatically slows down and changes lanes when it detects a police car, mimicking cautious human driving behavior.
Tesla owners are noticing a new quirk in the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. According to driver reports, the autopilot now behaves a lot like a human driver when it spots a police car on the road.
The buzz started with a social media video showing a Tesla equipped with FSD detecting a police cruiser parked on a median divider. The system then slows down on its own, shifts to the next lane, and flows along with surrounding traffic.
Notably, the car didn't stick to the speed limit. Instead, it opted for a more cautious approach, avoiding any abrupt passing near the official vehicle. To an outside observer, the move was nearly indistinguishable from that of a careful driver.
This behavior likely stems from Tesla's training architecture. FSD relies on a neural network approach, learning from vast amounts of real-world driving data. That allows it to pick up not just formal traffic rules but also common driver habits.
Tesla has previously stated that the system is trained to handle emergency vehicles and spot cars with flashing lights. But this latest observation suggests the algorithm also follows general safe-driving practices around vehicles stopped on the shoulder or median.
Such reactions probably aren't limited to police cars. The system might respond similarly to emergency vehicles, road service trucks, or other stationary cars—keeping its distance and making smooth lane changes, which is widely seen as a safe driving technique.
© A. Krivonosov