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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after multiple collisions.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency declared that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body stated it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red lights and traveling against the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the intersection despite the red light and was subsequently part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The agency noted that four accidents had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the technology's planned behaviour as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not render the car autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.