🔗 Share this article

American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following multiple crashes.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially seeking a recall of the vehicles if the agency determines they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and moving against the incorrect way during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, proceeded to travel into the crossroads despite the red light and was later involved in a collision with other cars in the junction”.

The agency noted that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one news account alleging that Tesla vehicles, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper light status in the car's display”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's intended behaviour as the car was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the agency started an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these features are designed to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.