🔗 Share this article

American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following multiple crashes.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Concerning Case Findings

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

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads despite the red signal and was later part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Additional Safety Concerns

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

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

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

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

Manufacturer's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not make the car self-driving.”

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