Feds Open Probe Into Comma AI's Hands-Off Driving Tech After Fatal Crashes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary investigation on September 21 into devices made by Comma AI, a startup that sells an add-on box promising hands-off driving for cars people already own. The company was founded by the hacker George Hotz, who no longer runs it day to day but remains a major owner.

Regulators say vehicles running the devices struck slow-moving or stopped vehicles in their own lanes. Across five reported crashes, three people died and eleven were injured, according to NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. "ODI has confirmed that the systems were powered on or engaged in multiple crashes," the agency wrote.

It is the oldest failure in driver assistance: a stopped car ahead, a system that does not see it, and a human who has been told the car can handle it. Because Comma's system is added to ordinary cars after they are sold, it is harder to say who answers for a crash: the device maker, the carmaker, or the driver.

The probe is at its first stage. It can end in a recall, or in nothing. No finding has been made yet.