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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an examination into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached traffic safety laws”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a recall of the vehicles if the authority determines they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body reported it had received reports 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 reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, proceeded to drive into the crossroads despite the red light and was subsequently involved in a crash with other cars in the junction”.

The authority noted that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain 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”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's planned behaviour as the car was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the agency began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with 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 designed to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals possible issues with current implementations.