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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations following several accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, proceeded to travel into the intersection against the red signal and was later part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The authority noted that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the proper light status in the car's display”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's intended actions as the vehicle was approaching a red light”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the presently active functions do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.