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

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Violations

The NHTSA announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The regulatory body reported it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving in the incorrect way during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, proceeded to drive into the intersection against the red signal and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The authority reported that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's intended actions as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the presently active functions do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.