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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after several collisions.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands drivers to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The agency reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running 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 vehicle, using full self-driving engaged, “came to an junction with a red light, proceeded to travel into the intersection against the red light and was later involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The agency reported that four accidents had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary 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 vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's intended behaviour as the car was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into over two million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to assume control at any moment. While these features are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with current implementations.