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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an probe into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after multiple collisions.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Violations

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially seeking a recall of the cars if the agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had received accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red lights and moving in the incorrect direction during lane switching while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving activated, “came to an junction with a red traffic signal, proceeded to travel into the crossroads despite the red signal and was later involved in a collision with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The agency reported that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the entire time 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 alerts of the technology's intended behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these capabilities are designed to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not make the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.