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American vehicle safety authorities have started an investigation into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after multiple accidents.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Violations

The NHTSA declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that violated traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red traffic lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane switching while using the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using FSD engaged, “came to an junction with a red traffic signal, proceeded to travel into the crossroads despite the red light and was subsequently involved in a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system's planned actions as the vehicle was approaching a red light”.

Ongoing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are designed to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.