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American vehicle safety authorities have started an investigation into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following several collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires drivers to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, proceeded to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was later part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped 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 car's display”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the technology's intended behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

In October 2024, the authority started an inquiry into over two million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not make the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.