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

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to stay alert and take control when necessary, had caused car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority determines they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red lights and moving against the incorrect direction during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD engaged, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to travel 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 injuries to occupants.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the technology's intended actions as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing 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 October 2024, the agency began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for use with a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not render the car autonomous.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.