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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after numerous crashes.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body stated it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and traveling in the incorrect direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads despite the red signal and was subsequently part of a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

The agency noted that four accidents had resulted in one or more injuries.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the correct 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 car was coming to a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

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 sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.