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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an examination into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following several accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA declared that the automaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands drivers to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving engaged, “came to an junction with a red light, proceeded to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently part of a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct light status in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system's intended actions as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.