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

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

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

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads despite the red signal and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The agency noted that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's intended actions as the car was approaching a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In late 2024, the authority began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the presently active features do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.