Tesla FSD sped in 55% of Brussels 30 km/h zones tested — SkimNews
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- Johanna.be, a Brussels pedestrian and cyclist safety nonprofit, tested Tesla FSD over three days in July covering ~400 km and found it exceeded 30 km/h limits in 55% of low-speed zones, averaging 44 km/h where the legal limit is 30 km/h
- Tesla's FSD displayed a 50 km/h limit on screen in the majority of 30 km/h zones tested, and also exceeded the 20 km/h cap in 42% of residential shared streets ("woonerven"), while repeatedly attempting to overtake cyclists in Belgian cycle streets where passing is prohibited
- Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder approved FSD on June 10 after Tesla completed 5,000 km of supervised testing, making Belgium one of the first countries to recognize the Dutch RDW's provisional approval; a spokesperson told Reuters the system is "learning" and drivers remain "100% responsible"
- Johanna.be sent its findings to the Dutch RDW and Flemish mobility ministry on September 7, asking both to reconsider their approvals before the October 6 Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) vote, which requires a qualified majority of at least 15 countries representing 65% of the EU population to extend FSD approval bloc-wide
- Sweden, Norway, Finland, and France have all flagged FSD speeding concerns; Sweden told the EU in June to reject FSD unless Tesla removes its ability to exceed limits, and France refused to recognize the Dutch approval in July citing speeding and driver attention in cities
- Tesla countered with its own study claiming FSD vehicles "do not speed excessively" and match surrounding traffic speeds — a pitch that undercuts the WHO-cited finding Johanna highlighted, that pedestrians hit at 44 km/h are nearly six times more likely to die than those hit at 30 km/h
Why it matters: With France, Sweden, Norway, and Finland already citing FSD speeding as grounds to reject or refuse recognition of the Dutch RDW's approval, this independent Brussels test — the first non-Tesla data from dense urban conditions — lands less than two weeks before the October 6 TCMV vote needing 15 countries and 65% of EU population to extend FSD across all 27 member states, giving skeptical regulators fresh evidence at the worst possible moment for Tesla's Europe rollout.
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