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

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to stay alert and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving against the wrong way during lane changes while operating the system.

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

The authority noted that four crashes had resulted in one or more injuries.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the duration 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”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the system's intended behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency began an inquiry into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

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 features are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not render the car autonomous.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.