Why Autonomous Vehicles Still Can't Handle Traffic Lights

Episode 57 of Self-Driving Cars with Fexingo explores a surprising weakness: why self-driving cars still struggle with traffic lights. Lucas and Luna dive into a recent NHTSA report showing that over 12% of AV disengagements in 2025 were triggered by traffic signal confusion—from misreading green arrows to hesitating at blinking reds. They break down the technical challenges: how current cameras and lidar can be fooled by sun glare, LED refresh rates, and synchronized flashing patterns. The conversation touches on Tesla's vision-only approach versus Waymo's multi-sensor stacks, and why even the best AVs still rely on high-definition maps that go stale. With Rivian up 4.6% this week and GM down 1.6%, the hosts tie the stock moves to broader investor sentiment about autonomous timelines. A grounded, specific look at an unsolved problem. #AutonomousVehicles #SelfDrivingCars #TrafficLights #Waymo #Tesla #Rivian #GM #NHTSA #Lidar #ComputerVision #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #AVSafety #SmartInfrastructure #MachineLearning #SensorFusion #HDMaps Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo