🔗 Share this article

American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations following numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly requesting a recall of the cars if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had received reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other cars in the junction”.

The authority noted that four accidents had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the technology's planned actions as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into over two million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not render the car autonomous.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.