Technology
There’s no driving test for self-driving cars in the US — but there should be

Tesla’s “Full-Self Driving” (FSD) driver-assist characteristic doesn’t supply what its title guarantees.
Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk portrays the software program as a prelude to completely autonomous automobiles, a fast on-line search exhibits movies of FSD-enabled Teslas in North America aiming straight at pedestrians, crashing into parked vehicles, and slowing down on a freeway for no discernible motive. Unsurprisingly, quite a lot of observers have declared FSD to be a menace to site visitors security.
However for those who search for related movies of FSD-enabled Teslas stumbling their manner via Europe’s cobblestone streets, you’ll come up empty. It’s not as a result of Tesla’s system is healthier in a position to navigate San Sebastián than San Francisco; there are merely no FSD movies from Europe in any respect.
Why? FSD isn’t authorised for public use there.
Tesla can not deploy FSD anyplace within the European Union until it first obtains a inexperienced gentle from regulators. To acquire that approval, Tesla should convincingly exhibit that vehicles with FSD are no less than as protected as these with out it. No less than up to now, it hasn’t.
Not like their European friends, American automotive regulators don’t require — and even supply — any type of security preapproval for a brand new automotive mannequin or expertise. As a substitute, automotive firms “self-certify” that their automobiles adjust to federal tips pertaining to every part from steering wheels to brake fluids. However no such guidelines handle the motive force help and autonomous applied sciences which might be important to the automotive’s future — and to the security of everybody who walks, bikes, or drives.
Going through no important oversight, automakers like Tesla can legally deploy any superior driver-assist system (ADAS) they like, no matter how harmful it could be. In response to federal regulation, provided that the Division of Transportation’s Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) observes a sample of harmful issues can it launch an investigation (which NHTSA is now doing with Tesla), probably culminating in a recall. Till then, the vehicles underneath investigation can proceed zooming alongside American roads and streets.
Musk himself summed up the transatlantic distinction throughout a speech earlier this 12 months in Berlin: “Within the US issues are authorized by default, and in Europe they’re unlawful by default.”
With its blurring of strains between driver and car, the automation of vehicles is forcing US regulators to rethink their conventional strategy. A federal official, who was not approved to talk publicly, stated that NHTSA is at present exploring the way it may construction a preapproval course of for autonomous applied sciences, a transfer that would lastly power US carmakers to ask permission to deploy a brand new expertise — somewhat than beg forgiveness after one thing goes flawed.
For america, it’s an opportune time to ask a elementary query: is it sensible to attend till after catastrophe strikes to guard Individuals from dangerously designed automobiles?
Using in an American vehicle was a dangerous proposition throughout the early twentieth century; 16 Individuals had been killed per 100 million miles pushed in 1929, greater than 10 instances at this time’s fee.
Regardless of the carnage, federal officers paid minimal consideration to automotive security till outrage adopted the 1965 publication of Unsafe at Any Velocity, Ralph Nader’s explosive bestseller. A 12 months later, Congress enacted the primary complete federal guidelines for automotive security, and NHTSA was born in 1970.
At the same time as federal officers weighed varied automotive regulatory frameworks, they by no means critically thought of forcing carmakers to acquire preapproval for a brand new car mannequin or part.
Lee Vinsel, a Virginia Tech professor of science, expertise, and society who wrote a ebook concerning the historical past of auto laws, stated that he discovered no data of public leaders of the period even elevating that chance. As a substitute, federal officers selected to place automotive firms within the regulatory driver’s seat, and the method they established 50 years in the past stays intact at this time.
Right here’s the way it works: the encyclopedic Federal Motor Automobile Security Requirements (FMVSS) establishes guidelines for any automotive bought to be used on public roads, referring to every part from the energy of door hinges to the frequency of windshield wipers. NHTSA can and does replace FMVSS to include new applied sciences and options, however the course of strikes glacially.
“The expectation is {that a} new FMVSS factor will take 10–15 years earlier than coming into impact,” stated Daniel Hinkle of the American Affiliation for Justice, a commerce group for trial legal professionals.
Producers present their adherence to FMVSS via a course of often called self-certification, which works largely because it sounds: automotive firms merely affix a label to every car signaling compliance. Though NHTSA conducts spot checks, carmakers appear largely to abide by FMVSS; NHTSA launched solely 90 investigations into FMVSS violations in 2020.
“It’s uncommon to see car crashes which might be particularly as a consequence of FMVSS non-compliance,” Hinkle stated.
NHTSA solely brings the hammer down with a recall if an investigation uncovers a sample of security issues on public roadways. Such investigations take months; in the meantime, Individuals proceed to drive the defective or dangerously designed automobiles.
Notably, the US adopts a way more proactive security posture towards aviation security. When an airplane producer desires to construct a brand new type of airplane or alter a part, the corporate should work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to acquire approval previous to deployment.
Crash knowledge means that that framework has served flyers nicely. In response to analysis by Northwestern College economist Ian Savage, america skilled 0.07 aviation fatalities per billion passenger miles from 2000 to 2009 — round 1/a centesimal the speed for these driving in a automotive or truck. However the FAA preapproval system doesn’t come low cost; in response to a 2014 Division of Transportation workforce evaluation, the FAA employs over 6,000 folks engaged on car security whereas NHTSA had simply 90. To place one other spin on these figures: FAA employed over 10,000 enforcement workers for each 100 aviation deaths, whereas NHTSA had 0.3.
“It’s common to have a 12 months the place there are zero deaths in business aviation in america,” stated Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on the SXSW pageant earlier this 12 months. “However on the roadways, we mainly take it as a given, as regular, because the kind of price of doing enterprise, that hundreds and hundreds of individuals will die yearly.”
We additionally take it as regular that the FAA’s regulatory mannequin, centered round preapproval of recent planes and applied sciences, will not be relevant to cars — regardless of an American roadway dying toll that’s horrific in comparison with different developed nations and solely getting worse.
Throughout the Atlantic, Europeans are far much less more likely to die in a automotive crash than Individuals. In France, as an example, the per capita roadway dying fee is just a 3rd as excessive as within the US.
There are quite a few causes for the hole, together with larger transit ridership in Europe (touring by bus or prepare is much safer than going by automotive), slower city automotive speeds, and fewer driving per capita. Europe has additionally adopted automotive regulatory requirements which might be stricter than these of the FMVSS.
As an illustration, new car fashions bought within the European Union should embrace clever speed-assist expertise that sounds an alarm or applies resistance to the accelerator if a driver exceeds the posted velocity restrict. No such requirement exists within the US.
From a course of perspective, the European system of automotive laws works extra just like the US’s hands-on strategy towards aviation than its laissez-faire oversight of motor automobiles.
Earlier than a brand new car or part might be launched to the general public, the automotive firm should acquire preapproval often called kind approval from an EU member state. Acquiring that inexperienced gentle requires money and time as regulators overview knowledge and conduct inspections and checks to substantiate compliance with EU regulation. And if a automotive firm desires to deploy a expertise that isn’t but regulated by the EU, the automaker should exhibit that the proposed characteristic is no less than as protected as a car with out it — a requirement that has a profound impression on the deployment of superior driver-assist and autonomous applied sciences.
European automotive guidelines have actual enamel; in 2019 they compelled Tesla to regulate a number of parts of the corporate’s Autopilot ADAS system, equivalent to limiting how sharply the steering wheel can flip when Autopilot is lively, and the EU not too long ago compelled Tesla to make sure Autopilot capabilities obtainable to all drivers, not simply those that hit gamified benchmarks. European regulators have but to approve any deployment of FSD.
Antony Lagrange, the crew chief for automated and linked automobiles and security on the European Fee, makes no apologies for Europe’s regulatory assertiveness. “We’re speaking about very complicated, safety-critical merchandise,” he stated. “We have to be sure that these merchandise are protected for manufacturing — and that they proceed to be protected after they’ve been launched.”
The identical holds true for over-the-air updates, an more and more frequent technique of updating automotive software program that avoids forcing the proprietor to visita dealership. In America, automakers are free to difficulty such updates at any time when they need, however in Europe, they have to acquire preapproval from European regulators.
That requirement implicitly encourages automakers to restrict the frequency of over-the-air updates, which can itself make vehicles safer. “One factor that kind approval has going for it’s that it forces automotive firms to measure twice and minimize as soon as,” stated Ed Niedermeyer, a co-host of the Autonocast podcast. “In america, there isn’t any regulatory price of placing out a mediocre product and iterating. It is smart to try to power the businesses to get it proper the primary time.”
That sentiment was echoed by Jascha Franklin-Hodge, chief of streets for the town of Boston who beforehand labored in Silicon Valley. “My worst worry,” stated Franklin-Hodge, “is that carmakers undertake a software program growth mentality, with an acceptance of errors that always require correction.”
Is the European regulatory system of vehicle kind approval superior to the American norm of self-certification? It relies upon whom you ask.
Sort approval processes are costly, each for governments using a small military of engineers to check automobiles and for automotive firms compelled to navigate complicated regulatory programs earlier than they will promote to the general public.
American carmakers would favor the established order. “The present self-certification mannequin needs to be preserved, since this framework has labored nicely within the US,” stated John Bozzella, head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents virtually the entire legacy automakers.
Finch Fulton, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Coverage within the Trump administration, agreed. (Finch now works at Locomation AI, an autonomous trucking firm.) “Should you had been to shift NHTSA in the direction of a sort approval mannequin, there aren’t any clear advantages, however the improve to NHTSA’s funds would doubtless be astronomical,” he stated.
Missy Cummings, a former Duke engineering professor who now works at NHTSA, beforehand praised the FAA’s kind approval mannequin as a “complete” strategy to security, whereas noting that it may possibly “even be extraordinarily expensive and add important time to the deployment of recent applied sciences.”
After all, it won’t be a foul factor so as to add a number of extra engineers to NHTSA’s ranks or to decelerate the launch of a work-in-progress system like Tesla FSD. The arguments in favor of preapproval strengthen as cars morph into three-ton computer systems on wheels, the place a system malfunction may have catastrophic penalties. Certainly, technologically complicated, partially automated vehicles appear much like the airplanes that the US has lengthy regulated with kind approval — with a glowing security report, particularly in contrast with the carnage on US roadways.
In 2016, NHTSA issued steerage about regulating autonomous automobiles that explicitly cited the FAA’s use of preapproval as a mannequin, noting that “its challenges appear closest to people who NHTSA faces in coping with highly-automated automobiles.”
Six years later, the company appears to be giving preapproval new consideration: a supply stated that NHTSA is now creating a pilot that may empower the company to weigh in earlier than a brand new automated expertise is deployed on public roads.
Requested for remark, an NHTSA spokesperson would say solely that “the company is dedicated to repeatedly evaluating its authorities and processes to assist make sure the protected growth of superior car applied sciences.”
Kelly Funkhouser, Shopper Studies’ supervisor of auto expertise, stated she would assist such a transfer. “Our authorities simply can’t transfer quick sufficient for self-certification to be an efficient technique,” she stated “We want pre-approval to be introduced into the dialog.”
Nonetheless, the very concept of questioning self-certification is so delicate that Buttigieg rapidly modified the topic in an interview earlier this 12 months, and NHTSA declined an invite to touch upon the report for this story.
The subject could also be uncomfortable, however it’s changing into unavoidable. Past the surge in American roadway deaths, the nation’s present regulatory framework is ill-equipped to deal with the ascent of automated automotive expertise. A method or one other, issues must change.
Take into account how ADAS programs like Autopilot are already muddying the standard line between state-licensed “drivers” and federally-approved “automobiles.” In 2016, a Tesla with Autopilot activated was touring at 74 mph close to Williston, Florida, when it slammed right into a turning trailer, slicing off the roof and immediately killing the motive force.
Following an investigation, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board cited the Tesla driver for failing to pay adequate consideration in addition to Tesla itself for designing Autopilot to permit “extended disengagement” from the driving process and making it simple to activate Autopilot on street sorts the place it isn’t meant for use. Ought to federal or state officers take the lead in stopping a recurrence? It isn’t clear.
The state / federal divide grows even murkier with Stage 4 automobiles, able to being operated with none engagement from a driver on sure roadways. States like California require AV operators to acquire a allow to deploy a Stage 4 car on state roads; cities like New York Metropolis have dabbled in such laws as nicely. However NHTSA sees Stage 4 automobiles as falling underneath its personal purview; in 2020, the company compelled EasyMile to halt its self-driving shuttle operations after an damage in Columbus, Ohio.
As we enter an period of automated driving, how can laws finest defend American street customers? To this point, conversations about adjusting automotive laws for autonomous expertise have ignored the weaknesses of self-certification, focusing as an alternative on eradicating obstacles which may gradual new deployments. As an illustration, federal laws has been launched that may preempt states from regulating autonomous automobiles and empower NHTSA to exempt extra AVs from FMVSS security necessities. That’s hardly a recipe for guaranteeing protected expertise deployment.
Nonetheless, Buttigieg does appear to acknowledge the necessity to chart a unique path for automaker oversight. “So lots of our laws to maintain vehicles protected are primarily based on how vehicles all the time was,” he stated earlier this 12 months. “We have to ensure that they’re primarily based on how vehicles are going to be.”
Any motion towards kind approval can be a heavy political carry, going through opposition from a recalcitrant auto trade in addition to fiscal hawks cautious of including to NHTSA’s funds. However the transition needn’t occur all of sudden; it may start with a handful of preapproval checks for apparent security issues, like phantom braking. Confronted with a extra assertive NHTSA, carmakers may rethink the knowledge of placing work-in-progress ADAS or autonomous programs on public roads.
With street deaths already at a 20-year excessive, we want fewer dangers — no more of them — on American streets and highways. Sort approval might be a important instrument to assist navigate the autonomous period to return.
Lucas Peilert offered analysis help

Technology
It’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live

Editor’s note: That’s a wrap, folks! As Prime Day 2025 draws to a close, we’ll no longer be updating this article with additional deals and insights. Plenty of great deals remain, however, so be sure to check out all of our Prime Day coverage for anything you may have missed.
There are mere hours left of Amazon’s extended Prime Day extravaganza. And, yeah, we’re a little exhausted, but after days of lightning deals and all-time low prices, these discounts won’t be around for much longer. So, if you’ve been hesitant to jump on these laptop deals before heading back to school, now’s your time to act. Typically, Prime Day is your last opportunity to take advantage of bottom-dollar prices until Black Friday / Cyber Monday, so it may be a while before you see prices plummet on a gadget you’re interested in buying.
Really, there’s an overwhelming amount of Prime Day deals, so to make things easier to navigate, we’ve organized all of our favorites by category below. That will allow you to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for — or even uncover a deal on something you didn’t know you wanted.
Tablet and e-reader deals
Soundbar and Bluetooth speaker deals
Verge favorites and other miscellaneous deals
Update, July 11th: Added several more deals, including those for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Razer’s Kishi Ultra mobile controller, and Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus.
Technology
Massive scam spreading designed to trick you and steal your money

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Look at the image. That’s not the real Omaha Steaks. It’s from a fake site designed to steal your money.
It’s happening all over the internet right now. You see a great deal on name-brand stuff, a new smartwatch, fancy cookware, maybe some designer jeans, and you click.
Everything looks real. The logos, the layout, even Apple and Google Pay are options. But it’s a scam, and now your credit card info is out there.
5-MINUTE CLEANUP FOR YOUR PHONE AND COMPUTER
A massive scam targeting you
Silent Push analysts uncovered thousands of fake websites posing as trusted stores like Apple, Michael Kors, Harbor Freight, REI, Omaha Steaks and more. There’s a massive global scam operation that uses real payment methods on fake checkout pages. Like thousands-of-sites massive.
An image of a fake “Omaha Steaks” website designed to steal your money. (Silent Push)
The twist? The criminals, likely based in China, take your payment and ghost you. No product. No refund. No customer service. Total fake-out.
I’M A TECH PRO AND THESE ARE MY SECRETS TO BETTER FLIGHTS AND LUXURY TRAVEL
They cloned sites
They’re copying everything. Logos, layouts, even the checkout process, so much so that you’d swear you were on the real REI website while buying $10 trail shoes.
But there were some sites with mismatched logos and products. A Harbor Freight clone showed Wrangler jeans.

FILE PHOTO: A photo illustration of a person shopping online. (iStock)
Even worse: These scam sites are popping up faster than hosting companies can take them down. Many are still up right now.
IS YOUR PHONE LISTENING TO EVERYTHING YOU SAY? IT’S COMPLICATED
Don’t fall for it
- Slow down and read. Misspelled words, weird domain names like “nordstromltems.com” (that’s an L, not an I) or random products are huge red flags.
- Use virtual cards or a credit card. Not a debit card. You need that fraud protection.
- Stick to the real URL. Skip the sketchy ads. Always type the URL in yourself.
- If the deal looks too good, it probably is a scam. Period.

FILE PHOTO: A photo illustration of a cybercriminal. (iStock)
Bottom line: If the deal looks like it crawled straight out of your dreams, it’s probably from your nightmares. Slow down before you click “buy.”
Now you know this is happening. This scam campaign is a big one, and you need to stay sharp. Help save the world and use the icons below to share this know-how with your family and friends.
Get tech-smarter on your schedule
Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.
- National radio: Airing on 500+ stations across the US – Find yours or get the free podcast.
- Daily newsletter: Join 650,000 people who read the Current (free!)
- Watch: On Kim’s YouTube channel
Copyright 2025, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.
Technology
Here are 58 Prime Day deals you can still nab for $50 or less

Amazon Prime Day is an excellent time to save on a wide range of big-ticket items, including 4K TVs, laptops, and the latest pairs of noise-canceling headphones. But if you, like me, are in the market for something more budget-friendly, rest assured that there are plenty of deals to be had for $50 or less. Thankfully, we’ve sifted through hundreds of discounts to find a host of Bluetooth speakers, charging accessories, video games, smart home devices, and other gadgets that come in under that threshold. It’s the final day of Prime Day, which means these deals aren’t going to be available for much longer.
While Prime Day 2025 runs a little longer than previous installments — the event lasts through July 11th this year — these sub-$50 deals might sell out quickly. The good news is retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy are matching Amazon’s pricing in some instances, giving you more places to shop over the next few days. We’ll continue to update this post as Prime Day progresses, but for now, feel free to browse the options below.
Headphone and earbud deals
Other miscellaneous deals
Update, July 11th: Adjusted to reflect current pricing and availability, and to provide a link for readers to our coverage of Prime Day day four.
-
Business1 week ago
See How Trump’s Big Bill Could Affect Your Taxes, Health Care and Other Finances
-
Culture1 week ago
16 Mayors on What It’s Like to Run a U.S. City Now Under Trump
-
News1 week ago
Video: Who Loses in the Republican Policy Bill?
-
Politics1 week ago
Video: Trump Signs the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Into Law
-
Science1 week ago
Federal contractors improperly dumped wildfire-related asbestos waste at L.A. area landfills
-
Technology1 week ago
Meet Soham Parekh, the engineer burning through tech by working at three to four startups simultaneously
-
Politics1 week ago
Congressman's last day in office revealed after vote on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill'
-
World1 week ago
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,227