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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following numerous crashes.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the automaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands drivers to stay alert and take control when necessary, had caused car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red light and was subsequently involved in a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

In October 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Company'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 steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the presently active functions do not make 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 existing deployments.