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

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority determines they pose a risk to public safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using FSD activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently involved in a crash with other cars in the junction”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one news account alleging that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and display the correct light status in the car's display”.

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

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

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

Manufacturer's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

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