Tesla Cybertruck Driver Claims Vehicle Fails to Identify Railroad Crossings - Details that as the Gate Began to Close with Flashing Lights and Ringing Bells, the Cybertruck Continued to Speed Towards an Incoming Train
In two separate incidents, owners of Tesla's Cybertruck have reported near-misses with oncoming trains at railroad crossings, raising concerns about the vehicle's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system's ability to recognise undetectable railway crossings.
Boley, a Cybertruck owner from Texas, shared his harrowing experience on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum. According to Boley, his truck nearly drove onto an oncoming train when the FSD software failed to recognise a railroad gate. As he turned onto the road, the gate was already lowering, with flashing lights, ringing bells, and a train visible and less than 100 feet away. Despite the obvious warning signs, Boley's Cybertruck continued to speed up, forcing him to slam the brakes less than half a car length from the gate.
Boley has suspected for some time that the FSD software on his Cybertruck does not recognise railroad gates, as the visualization on the center touchscreen does not display railroad crossings. In an attempt to confirm his suspicions, Boley intentionally drove his Cybertruck across a railroad track this morning, only for the truck to continue accelerating instead of slowing down. Even after his last-minute intervention, the Cybertruck did not display the usual "what went wrong" message, which would allow him to send feedback to Tesla engineers.
Enrique, a Cybertruck owner from Oceanside, California, has faced similar issues with railroad crossing gates on a left-hand turn intersection. In one instance, his Cybertruck was still accelerating when he had to hit the brakes to stop at a railroad crossing, which was too close for comfort. Like Boley, Enrique's Cybertruck did not display the "What went wrong?" message, and specific information about Tesla-friendly developers addressing this issue was not found in the search results.
Neither Boley nor Enrique received a prompt from Tesla to provide feedback about the railroad crossing issue. This raises questions about whether Tesla engineers are already aware of the railroad gate issue, and if so, whether they are taking adequate steps to address it.
The crossing is about six car lengths from the start of the road for both Boley and Enrique, providing ample time for the FSD system to recognise and react to the railroad crossing. However, the gates, trains, and warning signals were all visible and audible in both incidents, yet the FSD system failed to detect them.
The issue with railroad crossing recognition has been reported by two Cybertruck owners, Boley and Enrique. As Tesla continues to develop and refine its FSD system, it is crucial that such issues are addressed to ensure the safety of all road users.
