The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a preliminary investigation into Comma.ai and its openpilot driver-assistance system on September 21. The probe follows five accidents involving the technology, which resulted in three deaths and up to 11 injuries. Investigators are examining whether the system fails to detect or respond to stationary or slow-moving vehicles.
Openpilot is an aftermarket device that connects to a vehicle's CAN bus to provide features like lane centering and adaptive cruise control. The latest hardware, Comma four, is priced at $999 and supports over 350 car models. Because the software is open-source, users can install it on various vehicles or run it via smartphones, sometimes using modified versions created by community developers.
NHTSA noted that several incidents involved vehicles running third-party software branches that may bypass official safety restrictions. One documented case from February 2026 in Louisiana involved a 2022 Toyota RAV4 using the FrogPilot branch, which struck a stationary police vehicle, killing two passengers. The system is currently permitted for use on any road at speeds up to 90 mph, despite lacking traffic light and stop sign recognition.
Comma.ai was founded in 2015 by George Hotz, who has since stepped down from daily operations. The company's own documentation acknowledges limitations regarding stationary object detection. The current NHTSA investigation is in the preliminary evaluation phase, with a potential transition to engineering analysis depending on the findings.
